Walk through downtown Baltimore City on a Thursday night, and you’ll see two Americas. Outside, you’ve got the drug-addled zombies shuffling barefoot through the streets, casualties of government’s failed War on Drugs. Inside, at the Bank Arena, you’ve got a packed house full of people roaring with laughter at a man who won’t cuss, won’t touch politics, and won’t offer a single hot take. His name? Nate Bargatze.
Somehow, this clean, apolitical comic is one of the hottest acts in America.
I hadn't been to my hometown of Baltimore, MD, in a while. As shocking as it was to see how the landscape had grown progressively worse, full of decay... an ungodly nightmare to be frank, I was perhaps more confused by the show my wife wanted us to see on a Thursday night.
Most of the comedy acts I have been to in my life were to see guys like Doug Stanhope in smoky little rooms, darkly lit clubs full of degenerates and drunks.
I was amazed to see an entire arena filled to the brim with people eager to see someone I had never even heard of before. I thought to myself, man, this guy must be hilarious.
As he takes the stage and begins his act, I am genuinely perplexed by the chorus of laughter that resounded every time this guy made the most boring, unassuming jokes ever written for an adult audience who actually paid to be there.
Mind-blowing, to be honest, but let's dig deeper.
Comedy Without the Culture War
I just recently wrote a blog about how comedy is the last bastion of free speech. How comedians are warriors in the political fight for revolution.
For decades, stand-up comedy has been a weapon. Carlin ripped apart government hypocrisy. Pryor and Chappelle cut into race and culture. Even Jerry Seinfeld, as observational as he was, offered jabs at the absurdities of modern life, taking sides on the political "woke" culture turned to outrage addiction.
Nate Bargatze, on the other hand, is different. He avoids profanity, controversy, and anything resembling a political opinion. His sets are about elevators, golf, his lunch at McDonald's, his wife, his dad, and his daughter's sleepovers. Harmless. Toothless. Totally safe.
Where comedians usually live to step on the third rail, Bargatze doesn't even press a single nerve.
And yet, he’s selling out arenas.
What Does This Say About America?
Bargatze’s rise could mean one of two things:
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We’re exhausted. After years of culture wars, pandemic politics, cancel mobs, and nonstop outrage, maybe Americans just want to laugh without fighting. Bargatze offers relief—a vacation from tribalism.
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We’ve surrendered. Maybe his success reflects something darker: a culture so beaten down that we’d rather laugh at nothing than confront the reality of what’s happening outside the theater.
When the world outside looks like The Walking Dead, maybe people prefer inside jokes about ice machines. Or, perhaps Nate Bargatze's shows are evidence that the people never really wanted the Civil War they were told they needed by politicians and the media.
The Libertarian Angle
From a libertarian perspective, Bargatze’s popularity is a Rorschach test for America. On the one hand, he embodies free choice—people are voting with their wallets for apolitical comedy. Nobody forced it, no quotas, no government “diversity initiatives.” Just market demand.
On the other hand, his rise may signal cultural sedation. If comedy was once the sharp edge of truth, a counterweight to power, what does it mean when the sharpest voice in the room is talking about horse names? Have Americans chosen sedation over satire? Or is this the true weapon society needs to fight back?
Escapism or Renewal?
Maybe Bargatze’s success is healthy, a sign that people are tired of being divided and want to share a laugh without taking sides. Or maybe it’s proof that the public would rather hide from reality than challenge it.
Libertarians know this much: comedy should be free, unregulated, and unfiltered. If the people want clean comedy, so be it. But let’s not pretend that laughing at “safe” jokes fixes anything. The government is still bankrupting us. The Fed is still inflating the dollar. The War on Drugs is still producing zombies in Baltimore, waiting for you to return to the parking garage on a Thursday at 10:30pm.
So enjoy Nate Bargatze. Laugh until your sides hurt. But don’t confuse laughter with liberty. Stay vigilant. Stay armed with knowledge.
And keep fighting the system in style! 👇
