In the US, trust
in our leaders and the individuals who represent us is not necessarily
declining, but it should be. Millions have lost their homes in the 2007-2008
real estate housing boom, hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent on
endeavors of military action abroad, and poverty, unemployment, and those
dependent on food stamps is as high as ever. While more has been said about
this distrust than actually done, the common person yearns for people of
integrity with an intuition of the types of struggles people are having.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of our citizens decide to exhaust their
recourses criticizing pundits or parties, without fighting to make individuals
in public office more accountable for their actions. A simple concept, but far
too many are guilty of believing in this status quo. Unfortunately, public
intellectuals delving for the truth on incidents relating to suspicious government
actions and corruption have almost always become ostracized and harassed by our
bureaucrats and ignored or discredited by the media. While not public
intellectuals, more recently evidence of this has been seen with Edward Snowden
being charged with espionage for his leaks from working at the NSA and Bradley Manning found guilty of similar charges as many referred to the case being run
by a “kangaroo court.” The messenger is ever increasingly being punished and
investigated than the message itself. Jesse Ventura could certainly be placed
into this category.
Ventura does not
fit the mold of the “stereotypical” public intellectual that works as a
freelance writer, wines and moans to a couple hundred students, or appears at
several speaking engagements. Yes, those all are admirable endeavors, but the
message of those actions individually will almost never reach the masses. In John
Donatich’s words, public intellectuals are not an “aristocracy of experts” [2]. The public intellectuals of
today need to partake in a combination of those things and more. Public
intellectuals, yes, need to voice their opinions and present their arguments,
but actual “physical action” is required. Organizing rallies, appearing on
television interviews, meeting with legislators, conducting investigative
journalism, and yes, the assessment of “classified” information may be
necessary steps public intellectuals need to take to become effective in
informing Americans. However, by far, a public intellectual needs to openly
communicate the entirety of his or her thoughts with complete honesty and
represent a concern for their constituency, no matter the consequences of
alienation or bodily harm.
Ventura was the
former Governor of Minnesota, a Navy Seal, and a professional wrestler now
turned media pundit, author, and political activist. He may not have the cache
or reserved speaking style of your typical politician, but individuals are drawn
to him for his down to earth nature and powerful debating abilities. He is
charismatic and fearless no matter who he talking to and takes anyone who lies
or is deceiving in the public office personally. He is well known for his
criticism of Vietnam saying that it was started by a false flag operation, the
Gulf of Tonkin incident which has been investigated by many to be completely misconstrued
and his theory that government officials had notoriously open evidence that
9/11 would happen. He also questions that the CIA may have been behind the JFK
assassination citing bullet trajectory evidence that the shots may have come
from a different building. Overall, Ventura represents the common man as an
individual coming from almost no means, joining the military after high school,
and later going to North Hennepin Community College. Ventura has distinguished
himself with his raunchy attitude in interviews, unprecedented candor in his
writing, harsh criticism of our two party system, and disgust with our governments
overreach into civil liberties and privacy. Through his work, Ventura wants
people to at least question our government, think critically, and personally
fact check government policies and incidents.
Originally,
Ventura gained prominence in the political sector when he ran for Governor of
Minnesota in 1998 under the Reform Party. His strategy for election was based in
a strong grassroots campaign and he was one of the first politicians to heavily
use the internet to let voters better understand his positions and thought
process. In the end he garnered the popular vote spending only $300,000, which
was significantly less fundraising than his opponents and other US campaigns during
that time[3]. In office, Ventura vetoed
45 bills in his first year, with only three being overridden [3]. He argued that the majority of
bills presented irrelevant Pork Barrel spending and were unnecessary, or
unenforceable. While Ventura lacked a political base in the Minnesota House of
Representatives and Congress, he successfully made progress in land-use reform
and mass transit, as well as mailing sales tax rebates back to citizens as
their was a government surplus in each year of his administration [3]. Ventura was also quoted as not
talking to a single lobbyist for the entirety of his term. According to Ventura,
the toll that the media made on the constant targeting and criticism of his
family convinced him that running for a second term was not worth “putting his
ass on the line for a second term” [5].
Ventura
has written 8 politically themed books, like Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me which discusses the executive
roles of our government or DemoCrips and
ReBloodlicans which discusses his views on our two party system as we have
become an increasingly more “facist” country in his words. Ventura has cited
how corporations invests in both Republicans and Democrats and that both
parties really are “cut from the same cloth” [4]. In Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me, Ventura talks about
anecdotes of his past in and around public office along with his adventures
into Mexico. His stories span from meeting Fidel Castro personally and being
tailed by the CIA, his controversial step to becoming the governor of Minnesota,
to his take on the more recent invasions into our privacy and civil liberties [5]. Most of the book is highly
entertaining and intellectually stimulated which is a rare combination. Also
included in several of his books are the anecdotes and reflections of the
several months annually he spends living off the grid in Baja California. This
habit of taking extended periods of time in solitude can certainly be connected
to philosophers like Henry David Thoureau who advocated the experience of
living in a wilderness away from civil society. Ventura has said that he lives
off solar power and that he is more than an hour from pavement. He has noted
the purpose of this annual retreat being a cleansing of the mind and the enjoyment
of simple pleasures like surfing or reading a book.
Ventura
began his more prominent appearances on television with the creation of his
show, “Conspiracy Theories.” If you were to watch one of the episodes, it is in
Ventura’s words “an entertainment show” but the content is productive. While it
may not be as professionally produced or presented as a 60 minutes or Dateline,
it is more translucent in terms of the shows investigative journalistic style.
The audience is able to see and witness how evidence, statistics, and
interviews are being gathered. In one episode, Ventura visits the construction
of a massive 70,000 sq ft bunker being constructed in Ozark, Missouri only too
be harassed and shut out by the local sheriffs department, even though he was
using public roads and property. That being said, Ventura has repeatedly used
his status as a former governor in many episodes to take chances assuming he
will not be arrested or taken into custody. The show has addressed issues like
Area 51, the JFK assassination, the Gulf oil spill, and the 9/11 attack on the
Pentagon. A lot of times it is not about manufacturing a new opinion of what
actually happened, but instead giving the viewer more or different types of evidence.
As
Ventura’s popularity as a public political figure gained prominence, he was
able to appear on several different news outlets to voice his stance on our
political parties, the Iraq War, recent presidents, his theories on past wars,
and current foreign policy. On one of his more notable appearances, anchor
Brian Kilmeade on “Fox and Friends” walked off the show when Jesse Ventura
argued that public officials should be prosecuted and/or investigated for 9/11
arguing the handling of the incident. Ventura has also made multiple
appearances on Larry King Live, Piers Morgan Live, and Howard Stern. He has been
a harsh critique of the 248 US military bases in foreign countries as well as
Guantanamo Bay and the use of torture. Furthermore, he has commonly discussed
in interviews his issues with the Supreme Court Decision that made corporations
“people” which has led to massive spending in elections across the US through
Super PAC’s. Ventura has advocated that people run separate of party, and that
party’s identification be taken off the ballot.
In
terms of religion, Ventura describes himself as a Christian, “but does not
believe he needs a church to attend” [10]. Furthermore, Ventura has
been a strong critic of organized religion claiming it is commonly something
that we tell people what to do and that “fundamentalists” can make people feel
that not accepting their principles somehow invalidates them. This very much
coincides with “The Cleric as Public Intellectual” by Stephen Mack as he
describes politics and religion as being “alienated kindred vying for the same
space in the human imagination.” [1]. Mack notes that our
democratic principles are in no doubt predominantly from our religious
traditions, he says it is somewhat dangerous to replace our fundamentals of
religious deduction in more political issues and decisions [1]. The key to this being that our religious
values and beliefs should be used for “moral” life decisions, but not secular
ones or to justify the degradation of others. Ventura connects the first
amendment with the fact that everybody should have the right to discover and
feel their views on what God and religion means to them.
While
Ventura certainly has the wrap sheet of life experiences, he has turned a new
page in his career. Ventura researches political issues, organizes grassroots
agendas, writes books, and makes television appearances. While in Mexico, he
surfs and reflects on his life, decision-making, and views. Ventura might not
fit the bill for everyone, but almost no one has claimed him as being anything
but honest and forthright with his endeavors. Ventura is even considering a run
for the US Presidential Election in 2016. However, Ventura has often reiterated
a quote from his father that an individual should not spend more to get a job
than he or she would actually make performing the job. On this topic, and many
others, people may react to Ventura with the word “Why?” Perhaps if he was not
as adamant on particular virtues or didn’t mention particular topics similar to
other politicians he could have pursued a more complete and prominent political
career. In that sense, Ventura has undeniably compromised more successful
political pursuits in public office for integrity and honor, which is admirable.
While it is arguable whether Ventura could adequately fill the presidential
position, through his actions, he is unarguably a patriot for freedom, lover of
his country, and in many eyes, a dangerously effective public intellectual.
Work Cited
[1] “Wicked Paradox: The
Cleric as Public Intellectual.” Stephenmack.com/blog. 14 August 2007[2] “The “Decline” of Public
Intellectuals?” Stephenmack.com/bog. 14 August 2007
[3] “Governor “The Mind”
Ventura.” PBS. 10 September 2013.
Web. <www.pbs.org>
[4] “Jesse Ventura: US Should
Abolish Inherently Corrupt Political Parties.” The Raw Story. 13 October 2010. Web. <rawstory.com>[5] Jesse Ventura.“Don’t
Start the Revolution without Me.” Print. Skyhorse Publishing New York, NY.
2008.
[6] “Jesse Ventura Supports
Ron Paul as the Only Anti-War Candidate.” Infowars.com.
29 December 2011. 11 September 2013. Web. <infowars.com>
[7] “Jesse Ventura Lays Waste
to Fox and Friends.” Huffington Post.
25 May 2011. 11 March 2013. Web <www.huffingtonpost.com>
[8] “America’s Deadliest
Sniper…Punches Out Jesse Ventura.” Mail
Online. 6 January 2012. 11 September 2013. Web. <dailymail.co.uk>
[9] E. Marty, Martin.“The
Religious Affiliation of Jesse Ventura.” Adherents.
21 April 1999. 11 September 2013. Web. www.adherents.com
[10] “Jesse Ventura on Politics,
Keith Richards, and Why He is an Atheist.” Highbrow
Magazine. 21 June 2012. 13 September 2013. <highbrowmagazine.com>
