What Libertarians Can Learn from Pro Wrestling
An insight from my recent appearance on the Counterflow podcast
I was recently a guest on Counterflow with Buck Johnson. Buck has really come into his own as an interviewer since he first started this podcast under the “Death to Tyrants” moniker. Buck has a knack for drawing certain thoughts out of his guests and this interview was no exception as he got me talking about subjects I hadn’t really gotten into in podcast form previously. I discussed my personal evolution over the past several years, and how my perspectives have changed in many areas of life, both politically and spiritually.
Check out the full interview here.
During the interview, Buck and I touched on one of our common passions: pro wrestling.
I first made the connection between pro wrestling and politics when I saw Jesse Venture ascend to the governorship of Minnesota as an Independent when I was a young pro wrestling fan. I was impressed how Ventura broke through the two party system and seemed to answer to nobody other than himself. I even got the chance to interview Jesse Venture for Lions of Liberty several years ago.
In that interview and elsewhere, Ventura described how he saw politics as similar to pro wrestling, in which a “good guy” and “bad guy” (a “face” and “heel” in wrestling lingo) battle it out on screen, put on a show for the crowd, and go out to the bar and have drinks together afterwards. He saw politicians operating similarly, putting on a show for their constituents where they battle on screen, but make deals and shake hands behind closed doors.
One instance of this can be seen in the Kamala Harris-Lindsey Graham “fist bump.” These supposed bitter enemies from rival factions seem to get along just fine when they think nobody is watching!
Buck and I got into discussing just what libertarians can learn from the most successful wrestlers and wrestling storylines. Check out this clip from the show:
At the end of the day, libertarians need to tap into the emotions of our fellow citizens and get them to connect with our story, as opposed to focusing on the logic of the philosophy. It runs counter to many of our libertarian autistic instincts to constantly point out to those we disagree with why we are right and they are wrong. But that doesn’t win anyone over.
What gets people on your side is when they feel your narrative - when you make them want to root for you. That is what libertarians need to tap into.
Check out all of my projects below:
Lions of Liberty, where I facilitate conversations with the hopes of inspiring others to achieve more liberty in their lives.
Second Print Comics podcast, where myself and Remso Martinez take a weekly look at the comic book characters, storylines and events that shaped our fandom.
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The Expat Money Show - This isn’t my project, but I’m thrilled that I’ve gotten to work directly with my friend Mikkel Thorup to help grow this show over the past few months. I believe greatly in what Mikkel is doing - helping others to achieve greater liberty in their lives by living and investing abroad - and helping grow this program has been a true joy. I also get to help moderate The Expat Money Forum on Facebook - check it out!