Tuesday Apr 09, 2024

Spike Cohen "Troublemaker"

“Even if Congress were the most intelligent and incorruptible people… they should not choose for you. They are often idiots” —Spike Cohen discusses the problems with Democracy.

“We have to show people that liberty works, it’s something that makes sense, it’s not just a theory,” says Spike Cohen, founder of the organization “You Are the Power'', which works to see justice for community members who’ve been wronged by their local governments.

In this episode of The Bart Baggett Show, Spike Cohen tells the story of one pastor who sheltered and fed the local homeless population in his church, and the local government responded by seizing the church. Why are local community leaders not allowed to feed the homeless? The answer will surprise you.

Politics is a dirty game, as Spike saw firsthand as vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian party in 2020. He and Bart talk about the real story behind the two World Wars and what he sees as the problem with handing power to a handful of power-hungry people like those who govern the US.

If Spike had any aspirations toward power or status, a diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 2016 gave him a new perspective. He explains how, far from being an obstacle, this served as a catalyst for many great changes in his life.

Join today’s discussion as Spike Cohen and host Bart Baggett discuss imposter syndrome, dress swapping, and how Spike got his name (and why he had to steal it back from a dead dog).

Quotes

“I want to kill the narrative that libertarians can't win and change it to not only can libertarians win, but when we win, the people win for a change, too.” (4:47 | Spike Cohen)
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the thing is, the more that you centralize that power into one person, or even a relatively small group of people. In DC we’re basically ruled over by 546 people, 435 in Congress, 100 in the Senate, nine in the Supreme Court and one in the White House. 546 people are making day to day life and death decisions for over 350 million Americans across a gigantic landmass and multiple islands and so forth. And even if these were the most intelligent and incorruptible people they still couldn't possibly know as well as you do what you need. And of course, they aren't the most intelligent people. They're often idiots, and they're certainly not incorruptible.” (10:42 | Spike Cohen)
“A lot of people who are successful have status, but their self esteem is actually pretty low. So the more successful they are the more they feel validated. And then temporarily, they feel good enough, but it's a never ending drug of validation.” (18:21 | Bart Baggett)
“In 2016, I was diagnosed with MS. It forced me to rethink every aspect of my life down from what I ate, to how I operated, to what I thought about myself and everything else. And now, I'm living on purpose. And that has completely changed my mindset on everything. I'm not chasing status anymore. I'm chasing a vision that I have for what I'm trying to do and that now when I go to bed at night, I am excited to wake up the next morning to do the next thing.” (18:55 | Spike Cohen)

Links

Learn more and subscribe to the Bart Show Fan Weekly Newsletter at https://thebartshow.com

Links

Connect with Spike Cohen:

https://www.facebook.com/literallyspikecohen

https://www.instagram.com/literallyspikecohen

https://www.youtube.com/literallyspikecohen

https://www.tiktok.com/@literallyspikecohen

Connect with Bart Baggett

https://instagram.com/bartbaggett

https://www.instagram.com/bartshowpodcast/

https://www.youtube.com/@bartshowpodcast