Indiana and External Influences.

This relates to a recent post by The Indianapolis Star columnist RiShawn Biddle on Expresso. I thought it was extremely interesting and thought provoking and I completely agree with him. What he says is basically it would do Indiana and Hoosiers a whole lot of good if they ventured out of their state for education, work or just cultural experience. The exposure and experience would change them in a positive fashion and maybe, they would look at issues in a different light. He sort of thinks that opposition to the more progressive reforms and policies carried on by the government are from people who have never moved out of the state and are not exposed to different perspectives. I completely agree with him. It is almost as if there is this part of Indiana which is almost living 50 years in the past. Whatever has happened in the last few decades has almost passed them by. They are almost adamant against anything new just because it is new. Ignorant might be a more offensive but apt term. My personal experience has been the same. Some of the people I get along with the best as well as my buddies are people who have traveled and studied outside Indiana, in other parts of the US as well as abroad. These are the people who will ride the crest of globalization and be successful. They experiences and exposure make them open to new things while holding on to the the values they grew up with. Their world view is so different. There is not that much difference between a non-exposed Hoosier or any American for that matter and a farmer in Asia or Africa. The mindset is strikingly similar. This does not mean that people who have never traveled or been exposed cannot be enlightened. They are the exceptions which make the norm. Reading the reaction to RiShawn Biddle's post stunned me. It was almost as if he committed the worst of sacrileges.