In the midst of the current depraved and venal state of American politics, political figures like Jesse Ventura are who we need to help us return to disciplined and fair governance.
Ventura, real name Jim Janos, is an ex-pro wrestler, actor, mayor, and governor. He was a Navy Underwater Demolition Team specialist in Vietnam. He rode as a member of the Mongols motorcycle group in the 1970s. In the 1980s he was Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a staple in WWF/E wrestling. He wielded a badass mini-gun and cracked out legendary one liners in the Schwarzenegger blockbuster movie Predator. In 1998, he was elected governor of Minnesota. Today he hosts his own online political video series. Needless to say, Ventura is a real renaissance man.
Many people are hopping onto Bernie Sanders' hype of "grassroots" democracy and anti-lobbying and anti-Super PAC stances in his presidential run. Ventura did the same almost 20 years earlier in the Minnesota gubernatorial race, winning the vote despite spending less than $750,000 on his whole campaign. He served the first year of his term as a Reform Party member, the last three as a true Independent. He declined to live in the Governor's Mansion and instead opted to work from his regular home, citing his family obligations and saving taxpayer dollars. He gave tax rebates to all Minnesota residents because of a state budget surplus and vetoed the use of taxpayer dollars to build an unnecessary new Minnesota Vikings stadium.
Now THAT is humble, populist, economically conscious governance.
Jesse Ventura also has a track record for championing civil liberties and progressivism. During his time as governor, he legislated protection for religious minorities, proclaimed support for gay rights, medicinal marijuana and later full legalization, and even considered resigning his governorship so that his lieutenant, Mae Schunk, could serve as the first female governor of Minnesota and establish a precedent for women in the state government. He decided not to run for a second term, citing the negative effect of the media on his family.
These days Ventura leads a quieter life as host of his online video series "Off the Grid," in which he provides commentary on the momentous issues facing the United States today. Criticizing government corruption, inflated military spending, the two-party system, Unchecked Corporations and Big Pharma, among other topics, Ventura calls things like he sees them, with unapologetic common-man sensibilities.
Young Americans who are frustrated with the corrupt, mendacious government machine can also find a supporter in Jesse Ventura: "Millennials don't trust the man, and the way things are going these days, I can't say I'm surprised," he says in one of his videos. "They don't trust the government because they're constantly being lied to. That's why my show is so popular amongst the new millennials ... They might not agree with everything that I talk about but they at least trust the fact that I'm giving them my honest opinion."
In today's America, where ordinary people are getting more and more abused by the U.S. government and lose more and more faith in ratings-oriented mainstream news sources and sellout politicians, honesty and humility in politics is as rare as gold. One could say Jesse is an awkward mix between Bernie Sanders and Ron Paul, or that he is a bombastic show biz has-been.
Regardless, it can't be denied that Jesse Ventura is an honest man who has served American citizens with them in mind, and his virtue is one young Americans should look up to.
