Michael Jarrell

Sunni: And we're seeing too much of that, still. This might seem like an awful question to ask, but growing up in the midwest as I did, I know what can be found there ... and I can't help but be terribly curious: after all your adventures, what led you to live in Indiana?

Michael: Hmm. That one's not as difficult as it might seem and it's not that awful. I actually ended up in Indiana after spending quite a few years in Kentucky. It was there that I met my wife and she is the reason I ended up here. She's a senior research scientist for a pharmaceutical company. They're headquartered here so, voilà! Here I be!

Sunni: Okay, that does make a lot of sense. You haven't been focusing on local politics as much lately on your blog, but for a while you were—mostly on Real-ID-related items—and as bad as some of that was, it really just scratches the surface. Indiana was strongly part of the Bible belt when I grew up near there ... not a good place to be different, or to be perceived as against America in any way, broadly speaking, of course. I'd imagine it's still that way. How do you handle it?

Michael: I tend to focus on local stuff when it's been out in front of people, as it pops up. Lately, those subjects haven't been out front, so I don't tend to write about them as much. There is a lot going on but, it's not in the Real ID or freedom areas at the moment. As far as Indiana is concerned Real ID is a done deal. While every other state's governor is yelling about the $11 billion price tag, this state's politicians are looking forward to paying it, just so they can lead the pack.

Sunni: That's interesting, in a sickening sort of way. The politicoes think it'll help the state gain clout or something?

Michael: Quite possibly. Indiana is a rather subservient place when it comes to federal interference. They seem to have surrendered to the federal paradigm for most things. When Washington speaks they scramble to do their bidding. Part of that comes from having a governor who was a member of Bush's staff and who relishes doing things the Washington way.

What local news there is that I've been writing about has been on the county level and I wrote it for the local LP site which I put together for them. Indiana still takes up a few notches on that belt and it can be a problem for some. I don't seem to experience a great deal of grief, though. I've discovered that most people around my area are just folks and they don't seem to care too much about the political addictions of others. Most of them want the same things you and I do, they're just afraid to take the necessary steps to make it happen. Open hostility has been a rare occurrence for me. Thankfully. Most of the vitriol I see doesn't occur in a face to face setting.

Sunni: Hmm. I wonder if midwestern culture has changed some since I grew up there, or whether my stereotype about Indiana has been a bit off all along. The midwest is a very good place to raise a family in many ways still, I think. It's mostly the religion angle you mentioned previously that concerns me.

Michael: Well, that religious angle still exists here, but it doesn't seem to be terribly in your face. As with most places, though, Indiana has had a large influx of people from other places, cultures, and countries. That has probably had a great deal to do with things as they now stand. As I have found out since I moved here the county I live in was once a center for Klan activity. That certainly doesn't exist now, at least not in any open fashion, as it did then.