By Michael Leppert
The Indiana Citizen
August 20, 2025
I started writing my column in the spring of 2014, and oh how things have changed since then!
Barack Obama was president, and Mike Pence was the governor of Indiana. There were already Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly, and those legislative maps have since been updated and fortified to protect that offensive imbalance for the foreseeable future here.
Of course, that assumes Hoosier voters will keep voting red, no matter what that ultimately means. The Republican brand of 2014 would be unrecognizable to a new Republican in 2025. Ronald Reagan is no longer a hero. Richard Nixon is no longer an embarrassment. And Antonin Scalia is unknown to most modern GOP voters.
“12 Years a Slave” and “Dallas Buyers Club” cleaned up at the Oscars that year, both of which were stories of historic heroism in response to horrible periods of American history. Those hit movies make me wonder what the great stories about this moment will be, decades or even centuries from now.
Early next year, I will publish my second novel, “The Edge of Motherland.” The setting is early 2020 in Indianapolis, and the story details an unusual friendship that begins just as the pandemic is locking down the city and the country. The actual historic events, and their impact on people during the first half of that year were remarkable all by themselves, and the book documents plenty of them. But the reason for writing it is to document how the moment felt, and how those feelings inspired a reevaluation of what “home” means.
It’s not a book about politics or government.
Eleven years ago, I was a contract lobbyist, primarily working for clients who needed assistance communicating and advocating to state government. I had been consulting in the private sector for a dozen years following a career of similar length as a state employee and agency executive. Government, and the politics that steered it, was what I spent my professional life studying and working to impact. My résumé would indicate I was an expert in a niche market that was financially rewarding.
But I was losing interest in it. Writing this column helped keep it interesting for me back then and for many years since. I have now published more than 600 columns, and almost 500 of them have been specifically about politics and government. When I look back at the body of work, most would agree, some more than others, that on these topics, I’ve written enough.
So, I am going to stop writing about politics in my weekly columns.
Before I go though, I want to leave a few parting thoughts.
First, the current statewide office holders in the Indiana Statehouse, each of them, are woefully inadequate public servants.
Governor Mike Braun appears to be treating the office as a part time gig, though I’m conflicted on whether having him work more would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s Christian Nationalism is now a regular and predictable source of humiliation to Hoosiers. Yes, Micah, all of the people being kidnapped and disappeared by federal law enforcement have a right to due process guaranteed by both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Attorney General Todd Rokita spends more time trying to keep his law license than protecting Indiana citizens. His latest crusade against Notre Dame and Butler for some sort of discrimination cracks me up considering his alma mater, Wabash College, is one of only four all-male colleges remaining in the country.
And then there’s Secretary of State Diego Morales. I recommend a travel ban on him before his diplomatic cosplaying inspires countries like India or Japan to invade and conquer Indiana.
Six years ago, I enrolled in a graduate communication program at Northwestern University. I now teach the subjects I learned there, which means I also continue to study them. I teach people how to speak publicly, how to write clearly, and how to develop productive teams. I study the science of conversations and will present a workshop I have developed on the topic at a national conference in October. What now drives me is helping people more deeply understand and connect with each other.
Artificial intelligence can help but not replace the need for humans to successfully interact and relate. “Motherland,” and the book that will follow it, are examples of how dialogue and culture shape our individual lives. Going forward, my weekly column will focus on these things as well.
I have long felt that our political leadership is the result, not the cause of the state of our culture. My daily work now focuses on making progress in our culture through better communication. It’s time my weekly writing does too. I promise to make it worth your time.
Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.
