“The Mind” Jesse Ventura

Jesse Ventura on CNN w/ Piers Morgan
Jesse Ventrua on CNN w/ Piers Morgan 2
Jesse Ventura on Fox w/ Fox and Friends
Jesse Ventura on Howard Stern

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>