Category: Indiana Writers Group

Fishing With Republicans Republicanism is like my fly fishing — gratifyingly ineffective. In honest self-appraisal, I have ranked my fishing skills in order of their current development. First of all is shopping for equipment and attire. That is followed somewhat distantly by knot-tying, pattern selection, casting with accuracy and finally fish catching. Despite my dedication…

Youth, Alas, Is Overrated HOW DOES ONE BECOME a conservative, or more accurately in our case a classical liberal? Progressives like to think it is because we have been brainwashed somewhere along the way. That is the kindest view. Others think we are too dumb or selfish to appreciate the Left’s vision. Actually, it’s not that complicated. Conservatives…

Witch Hunts: 21st Century Style by Mark Franke British writer G. K. Chesterton in his 1922 book “What I Saw in America” described this country as “a nation with the soul of a church.” No doubt he was right 99 years ago when he wrote this and his observation continued to be true as our…

The New Superman Fails to Inspire by Leo Morris I’ve got a secret. Bet you do, too. As a matter of fact, don’t we all? Isn’t it time we brought them out into the open so we can shine the light of truth on the shame hiding in the darkest corners of our souls? I’ll…

OUR COLUMNIST LEO MORRIS is editing a special issue of the journal focused on the increasing division in our state and nation. We need your help raising $600 to meet the additional publication costs. As an editorial writer for four decades, Morris is familiar with controversy. He has developed a practical approach that begins with empirical evidence but is open…

The History of Slavery: What CRT Misses by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. Advocates of Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in schools would have an easier time convincing others if they did not start history in the year 1619 and looked at more than one country. But advocates of CRT may not want to look past…

America: Melting Pot or Boiling Cauldron? by Mark Franke I learned during what many today consider the benighted 1950s about a concept termed the Melting Pot. This was taught in what we called social studies back then, which included a healthy dose of American and Indiana history. The principle of the Melting Pot is that…

Questioning the Jobs Rhetoric by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Americans are awakening to the fact that political rhetoric concerning job creation is no longer so reassuring. Why exactly are politicians so focused on efforts to increase labor force participation? Will policies intended to increase participation actually be effective?  U.S. job growth this September came in 300,000…

Education and the Great Divide by Leo Morris If a group of parents request that certain material be removed from the classroom, that is not censorship or “book banning,” Is that a provocative statement? I don’t think it should be. Today’s case study is from central Indiana. Former Hoosier Julia Scheeres is “somewhat amused” but…

The Stadium Game Plays Out IN ANY DISCUSSION of economic development the success of our publicly financed baseball stadium is invariably trumpeted. It is surrounded by similarly financed masses of concrete and rebar, e.g., a convention center, apartment complexes, parking garages and now an abandoned factory transformed into a mixed-use district “of innovation, energy and culture.”…