My Autobiography: A Report

Photo: Joan Greenfield

Following is the latest draft of the Preface, Introduction, and Table of Contents for my autobiography.  I would appreciate your feedback.

For the Preface and Introduction, I was guided by “What’s the Difference Between a Foreword, Preface, and Introduction?”, in which Donald Bastian states:

In a preface an author explains briefly why they wrote the book, or how they came to write it. They also often use the preface to establish their credibility, indicating their experience in the topic or their professional suitability to address such a topic. Sometimes they acknowledge those who inspired them or helped them....

If a preface is about the book as a book, the introduction is about the content of the book. Sometimes it is as simple as that: It introduces what is covered in the book. Other times it introduces by setting the overall themes of the book, or by establishing definitions and methodology that will be used throughout the book.

Reviewing my letters to my mother, typing excerpts, and making notes has been very time-consuming. I was getting stressed about how much time it was taking, for I had in the back of my mind a deadline for finishing the book. I was hoping to complete it by March 31 so I could take a road trip throughout the United States in April and May with the book behind me. 

I want to meet with old friends and people I’ve gotten to know through the Internet in order to discuss whatever questions are on my mind at that time. I may want to explore with them the possibility of forming a new national (or global) network of like-minded people committed to compassionate action who could support one another in their efforts.

I believe I also had a fantasy in the back of my mind that the autobiography would be so good and quickly gather so much attention, it would boost my other efforts. But that is unlikely, especially by March 31.

Now I’ve dropped that March 31 deadline and plan to simply make the book as good as possible regardless of how long it takes, while still pursuing my other interests while I write. I can post chapters on the Web as I finish them and maybe slowly grow my circle of friends that way.

I really want to explore the States this spring, a great time of year for that. And I need to fully review the correspondence, journals, and other documents I brought with me in order to make the autobiography as good as possible, and I don’t know how long that will take. So I’ll play it by ear, type only excerpts from my papers that seem compelling and might fit in with the flow of the text (without constantly introducing them with phrases like “As I wrote in a letter to my mother”), and finish chapters after I’ve reviewed relevant documents.

So now I’m more relaxed and look forward to enjoying my work more, without feeling pressured by a deadline.

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Wade’s Autobiography

Preface

When I’ve told stories from my life, others have often been intrigued and at times amused. A friend recently told me, “You are one of a kind.” When I shared an early draft of this preface with some friends, one responded, “The list of accomplishments … is very moving and inspiring, and reflects your exceptional sense of integrity.  You should be proud, Wade!”

So, I decided to tell my full story, which includes many dramatic moments, including close encounters with death and numerous stories that are humorous. 

Without strong encouragement from others, I would never have taken on this task. Normally I’d be too self-conscious. In particular, the following individuals have encouraged me to write this book:

• Michael Larsen, long-time literary agent;
• David Robbins, retired English Literature professor who greatly influenced me when I was a freshman and he was a graduate student;
• Leonard Roy Frank, editor of the Random House Webster’s Quotationary who has been a dear friend for more than 40 years and knows me very well;
• Roma Guy, founder of the Women’s Building in San Francisco with whom I have collaborated off and on for 40 years;
• Sharon Johnson, former legislative aide to Supervisor Harry Britt and Assemblyman John Burton, who has known me and my work for almost 40 years, and;
• Numerous subscribers to Wade’s Weekly, where I posted early drafts of several chapters. 

Thanks to their encouragement, at the age of 69, in mid-October 2013, I brought correspondence, journals, and other documents with me to the north coast of the Dominican Republic to begin writing this autobiography, while posting chapters on Wade’s Bio as they were written.

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As a young child, I lived with little indoor plumbing on a small farm outside Little Rock, where my grandfather molded me into a Little League super-star and my mother, a rare White anti-racist in Arkansas, taught me the Golden Rule and other spiritual precepts. At seven, we moved to Dallas, where my father managed a theater in an African-American ghetto. 

When I was fourteen, my grandfather suffered a stroke after getting agitated watching me play baseball and died that night, for which I felt responsible. 

The next year I discovered the Dallas Public Library and an exciting world of new ideas, especially the works of Bertrand Russell, H.L. Menken, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, and other iconoclasts. Steeped in the Radical Right orthodoxy that dominated Dallas, most of my high school teachers did not appreciate my free thinking. 

In 1960 every junior was required to take a course on Anti-Communism, which prompted me to go to the University of California at Berkeley – after I persuaded my mother to support my decision by giving her an offer she could not refuse.

In less than two months, the Cuban Missile Crisis frightened the whole world and I went to my first political demonstration. 

At my student co-op where I ate meals, two graduate students introduced me to contemporary theologians who translated fundamentalist Christian myths into language that made sense to me.

My second semester I discovered Bob Dylan, whose music affected me profoundly and has inspired me ever since, and I heard James Baldwin speak on campus, which left me with tears rolling down my face. I proceeded to read everything Baldwin had written. 

Early the next year I became immersed in the civil rights movement and thereafter many movements associated with the Sixties, including anti-war, black liberation, women’s liberation, sexual liberation, gay liberation, the counter-culture, and People’s Park.

In 1967 I dedicated my life to organizing “communities of faith, love, and action” and studied theology for two years at the Pacific School of Religion, where I co-conducted “A Sort Of Modern-Day Dionysian Rite” in the chapel and helped organize the New Seminary Movement, which led to me being expelled by the President, only to be reinstated by the Board of Trustees.

In 1969, I moved to San Francisco to work as an intern minister at Glide Church and its National Sex and Drug Forum, whose methods included showing social-service workers erotic and pornographic movies. 

While demonstrating nonviolently in support of the Black Panther Party during a police raid on their Los Angeles office, the police beat me severely and charged me with felonious assault on a police officer, resulting in convictions on two misdemeanors.

Following my Glide internship, I decided to stay in San Francisco and do community organizing with no official credentials. My first project was the Alternative Futures Community, which conducted weekend marathon Urban Plunges addressing women’s liberation, gay liberation, racism, and the need for radical political action.

I then had a very bad LSD trip that lasted for months and landed me in two mental hospitals, including one in Dallas where I had worked as an orderly. My therapist was my former boss who had become a friend in the interim.

After I recovered, I initiated or co-founded a number of community-based projects focused on a variety of issues, including men’s  liberation, alternatives to psychiatry, public transit, food coops, a low-income housing coop, job creation, a neighborhood cultural center, national antipoverty policy, and corporate power. In addition, I participated in efforts initiated by others focused on issues like rent control and high-rise development, as well as anti-war campaigns, including reporting from Baghdad during the U.S. invasion.

These efforts resulted in some victories, some unplanned benefits, and other resounding defeats. Through it all, I kept plugging away, addressing unmet needs, and planting seeds. I feel I’ve done my best and more than my fair share.

I then took a break to step back and reevaluate the “progressive movement” with which I had identified. With others, I co-convened a series of Strategy Workshops, two Compassionate Politics Workshops, and a workshop on “the holistic Gandhi-King Three-fold Path,” which integrates personal, social, and political growth.

These efforts led me to self-publish two books that are posted on the Web – Economic Security for All: How to End Poverty in the United States and Global Transformation: Strategy for Action – and three booklets, Promoting the General Welfare: A Campaign for American Values, The Compassion Movement: A Declaration, and Baghdad Journal. Since October 2010 I’ve published a blog, Wade’s Weekly.

The consistent thread in my life has been the pursuit of truth, justice, and beauty – that is, get a better handle on what is true, work politically to improve public policies, and enjoy life, which has included being awestruck at the wonder of the life force that energizes and structures the universe (which some call God) as well as the healing power of music. 

With Jesus, I’ve wanted to love my neighbor and myself. With Buddha, I’ve tried to avoid both selfishness and self-sacrifice. I’ve taken care of myself so I can better serve others.

This journey recently led me to go beyond the artificial left-right division into which our society tries to pigeonhole us. I now embrace “conservative” values as much as I embrace “liberal” values. Efforts to destroy the federal government are a perversion of conservatism. I do not believe that individuals can logically be placed on one left-right continuum. 

I affirm compassionate politics, look at each issue independently, and analyze what works best to serve the general welfare, regardless of whether it serves some pre-determined ideology. And I believe political activists must pay attention to how we treat people and work constantly to improve ourselves inwardly so we achieve more outwardly.

Partly because I’ve been so focused on my community work, I’ve never been married and have no children, though I’ve had numerous rewarding intimate relations with women and one of the children I helped raise, Brandon Faloona, named his first son Azure Wade, which is very heartwarming. 

Humanity is my family. One lover who left me three times only to return and is now a friend calls me Wade “Save the World” Hudson. I miss not having children, but for every loss there is a gain.

For money, after hustling money from foundations for twenty years, I decided in 1987 to drive taxi part-time, which left me free to do whatever community work I wanted to do while living simply. In 2000, I became an owner of my own taxi permit, which provides me with a comfortable income.

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I write this book to:

• Tell some entertaining stories. We all need entertainment.
• Share lessons I’ve learned that others might find useful. Over the years, my perspective and ways of operating have shifted, hopefully for the better.
• Help liberate myself from fears associated with being honest. I find that the more transparent I am, the more easily I can be transparent. Writing this autobiography and sharing it publicly has assisted with this ongoing liberation.
• Connect with like-minded individuals with whom I might collaborate in the future. By articulating my convictions fully, illustrating them with interesting stories, and distributing them, I hope to find more people who are committed to supporting one another with their personal growth, community building, and political action.

Regardless, I welcome your feedback.

Wade Lee Hudson

                                                                                                         Date

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Introduction

Each chapter addresses a particular theme such as Mother, College, Politics, Work, Sex, and Love, flows chronologically, and begins at a point in time later than the previous chapter.

The bulk of each chapter simply tells the story of what happened, what I thought at the time, and how I felt about it. At the end of each chapter I share some current reflections on those events.

Quotes from my letters, journals, and other documents are inserted in the text. To avoid disrupting the flow of the story, these quotes are indented without repetitive introductory phrases like “As I wrote in a letter to my mother.” The source is indicated in small type at the bottom of each quote.

In the final chapter, Reflections, I reflect on my life as a whole.

In the Epilogue, I issue an invitation to readers to let me know if they are interested in participating in the new project that is described there.

Readers are encouraged to post comments at http://www.wadesbio.org or send a personal email to wadeATwadehudsonDOTnet. Corrections, alternative perspectives, and personal responses to my characterization of individuals are especially welcome. I particularly welcome comments from people who object to what I say about them (I tried to share drafts with everyone I could contact in order to enhance fairness and accuracy.)

I’ll respond to comments when I can and will correct and update the Web version when needed. The title of each chapter will indicate the date of the latest revision.

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Contents

1. Mother

2. Daddy

3. Spirituality

4. Baseball

5. Schooling

6. Friendship

7. Books

8. Work

9. Sex

10. College

11. Politics

12. Music

13. Psychiatry

14. Esalen

15. Drugs

16. Love

17. Glide

18. Madness

19. Massage

20. Blackjack

21. Tenderloin

22. DC

23. Taxis

24. Mexico

25. Reflections

Systemic Reform or Transformation?

The need to restructure “the system” is compelling. The banking industry illustrates why. The Big Bank oligopoly suffocates the economy by draining capital from productive investments into the destructive “paper economy” where the super-rich earn guaranteed profits. We need to break up those megabanks into smaller units and insure that no institution can gamble with taxpayer money. Doing so would fundamentally restructure our financial system.

The same situation applies throughout society. Our social system is primarily geared to making money. Empowering people so they can better fulfill their potential and live good, healthy lives is secondary. The wealthy elite use their wealth to exercise political power for their own benefit. The “revolving door” leads to “crony capitalism.” Our Big Government is mostly concerned about the needs of Big Business.

Most people know this and resent it. The Tea Party taps this anger with its campaign to dismantle the federal government. But only a strong federal government can control Wall Street and other giant corporations that seek monopoly power.

Banks should not be allowed to hold hostage our entire economy. Factories should not be allowed to pollute rivers. Governments should be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

In fact, people should have a strong voice in the operation of all of our institutions. Students, parents, and teachers should have a strong voice in the operation of schools. Workers should have a strong voice in workplaces. And children should have a strong voice in families. We need to democratize all of our institutions and assure that they serve the common good (as well as earn a profit if that is part of their mission).

To achieve those goals, as individuals we need to constantly improve ourselves so we can better collaborate with others. As Julie Quiroz wrote in the comment thread for “Movement Lies We Tell Ourselves – Post #1”:

I don’t know if the English language has a word for the experience I want to convey: the profound and irreversible moment of growth from the inside that reverberates powerfully forever after; growth that catalyzes the core of what is already there, suppressed or dormant or inactive. Whatever we call it, I believe this growth is real and visible and possible in people and in movements, and that we have the opportunity and responsibility to nurture it with conscious intention.

And as a society, we need to enrich our culture, including our movies, music, and television.

The more we make progress in each arena (personal, social, and political), the better we’ll be able to make progress in others in a positive upward spiral. If we don’t grow in every arena simultaneously, we may be unable to grow in any arena.

When we democratize our entire society, foster ongoing self-improvement (including spiritual growth for those who are so committed), and humanize our culture, we will have reformed our social system.

As a candidate, Barack Obama legitimized “transformation,” a word that many progressives have used to connote major, fundamental, radical, or systemic change. Myself, I’ve used the word frequently, as I did in “Transform America: A Declaration for Action.” But I’ve recently concluded that word is imprecise and counter-productive.

The top Webster’s definition of “transform” is “to change (something) completely.” I don’t see how we can change either ourselves or our society completely. Nor should we try even if we could. The desire to wipe the slate clean, overturn the tables, and start over from scratch is understandable. But it’s wiser to build on what we have.

We don’t change fundamentally. We grow.

Perhaps someday, through steady growth, our society will transform itself, as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly or a species evolves into a new one. But if we knew what transformation was going to look like in advance, it would not be transformation. It would be a product.

So it seems best to focus on what we can see -- concrete improvements rather than abstract ideologies – and see where it takes us.

When we tell people we want to help transform (or convert) them, they often resist, understandably. It often seems arrogant because it is. So, especially since the word transform is not accurate, why use it?

It seems adequate to talk about “systemic reform” that includes ongoing personal growth, social development, cultural enrichment, and political change. For those of us who want to do more than “tinker,” that goal should be sufficient to motivate us.

By focusing on changing what we can change, we can better accept what we can neither escape nor change, be more present and supportive with one another rather than angry and frustrated, and grow compassionate communities that attract others with contagious happiness.

Reader's Comments

Re: I Was Wrong About Syria

I've long believed that it takes a disappointed idealist to REALLY understand politics! After all, a full-blown cynic couldn't even begin to imagine the ideals that a politician uses, natural as breathing, to camouflage his or her real motives and intentions; we need an idealist for that.

And I think, for similar reasons, that every pragmatist is, at heart, a disappointed idealist. We have pragmatists to thank for almost every effective action ever taken.

When I saw that Obama, too, has feet of clay (and yes, it took almost twelve months, mostly because where in Oz, we don't study the US scene as closely as you do or as we perhaps should), I immediately thought of JFK and the Cuban missile crisis, which, as an adolescent, I lived through in fear and wonderment.  How, I wondered then, dare the American president imperil the whole free world? It seemed the height of hubris and brinkmanship. What I, and many older people, didn't know then was the extent of the secret conversations, and deals even, between the opposing leaders.

Thanks for your insights into American politics!  They save me considerable efforts to research and understand aspects of American life which seem somewhat confusing or opaque from this (geographical and cultural) distance.:-)

Regards,
--Yahya

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Great analysis, Wade.

It's unfortunate that politics requires hiding one's agenda and holding the cards close to the vest.  It's like a giant game of chess, with unbelievably high stakes.

Politicians who aim for transparency and honesty end up being vilified and scorned.  Look at what happened to Carter.

I'm glad, however, that Obama played it well.  We certainly didn't need (or want) another war.

--Anonymous

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Great background information, Wade -- thanks.  It's easy to forget the media gives us very little factual
information and there's always WAY more going on behind the scenes. Don't we just love to get caught
up in the drama? Would be interesting to get your perspective on if/how/why the media is used to keep
people in a state of fear.  Who does that serve?  What's the point?  Politics aside.  If that's possible.

--Anonymous

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I was wrong about Syria too, but for different reasons:

Obama’s Backdown and the New World Order Project
http://www.globalresearch.ca/obamas-backdown-and-the-new-world-order-project/5349296

Much to my surprise, the bombshell that fell next did not explode in Syria: it exploded in London. For the first time in 400 years a Prime Minister was blocked from foreign adventurism by Parliament. And then an even bigger bombshell exploded in Washington. Obama caved in on his red line, in a humiliating backdown speech. Not only was the President left looking weak and indecisive, but the White House was apparently turning in its post-9/11 license to intervene at will.

--Richard K Moore
cyberjournal.org

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And, perhaps Obama is in the world of politics.  Strategies are difficult and we do loose some trust as they work the world they govern.

--Anonymous

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Re: Deep Nonviolence or Strategic Nonviolence?

How to “wade” into new territory without losing one’s nerve and winning the battle.

I am beginning to adopt and become enthusiastic about your passion and am making it my own as well.

A beautiful collection of material on nonviolence can be found at
New College of Florida

Check it out. I want to build such a resource center at Goddard College.

Let’s discuss.

--John Cloud

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Fascinating....only Sunday I reread Gandis passage on nonviolence. To live in truth, love and forgiveness - daily is a challenge in courage and not be lazy of spirit.

--Sharon Johnson

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Re: Manufactured Crises 

As always, you've given me much to think about - and thank you!

Overhearing two biologists talking, I was struck by the question: What media
did you grow those cultures in?

Biologist or consumer of culture, we need to ensure the media we ingest are nutritious, not toxic.

Regards,
--Yahya

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Excellent.

--Michael Larsen

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"The Apocaplypse is here and now and the Kingdom of Heaven is within, blooming without."

Have rarely seen a sentence that says so succinctly the Truth that I am perceiving...   We are experiencing the most extreme split in our view of the world that I have yet encountered in my lifetime.  On one hand, the fall and destruction of the human race and endangerment of the whole Earth - and - on the other hand, the rising up of those who have taken to heart the "be the change" you want to see.  If we indeed make a commitment to reach for humanity's potential and turn away from the disastrous habits that mankind has adopted through free will, we can open to our own potential and chart a completely different course.

It is a CHOICE and an INDIVIDUAL CHOICE that must be made by hundreds of millions if we are to succeed to become WHO and  WHAT we were meant to be.  For me this is the central spiritual challenge of all human beings.

Thank you for linking these several references together.  They help point to the examples of the extremes that we are being offered at this time among which to choose.  And to call yourself ready to do what is necessary in your own life to move away from Armageddon and towards being a worker that joins with others in actually creating "Heaven on Earth" is what is demanded of all of  us who choose to accept the challenge.

Many people reading this offering will not necessarily resonate to this spiritual paradigm, yet will be saying "YES" resoundingly to your post and to the gathering together of all of us who wish to become the ANSWER to the problems of the world.  To be the leaven in the loaf, to be the small group that Margaret Mead declared would always make the impossible possible and "turn the world around."

I myself love the reference that calls us to become an evolving Body of the Omega Human: "...Teilhard de Chardin’s Mystical Body of Christ evolving toward the Omega Point, our evolution into the Omega Human."

Makes me want to order Wheatley's book today and begin to read...  There are so many voices, growing daily, that support the Awakening of humanity!  I am profoundly grateful that I am linked to people, like yourself, who are taking seriously humanity's CHOICE to move beyond the Apocalypse.

linked in service,

--Marcella Womack

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Re: Friendship, “Therapy,” and Mystification

What immediately comes to mind are two lessons I learned throughout the years.  "to have friends, you have to be a friend."  "Friends are gold and not all that glitters is gold".  An important aspect of friendship is giving another our vulnerability and our being at ease with our own self.    It is one of those questions which is simple but emotionally complex.    There is a book "The Little Prince" which speaks eloquently to me about friendship, responsibility and taming.

--Anonymous

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Therapists are trained, among other things, to recognize transference and countertransference, and use them to further the work. With a friend or other person, it becomes an entanglement of the relationship.

The distance in the relationship allows more objectivity.

--Martin MacKarel

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Yes!! Dear you are absolutely right In the busy, modern world, spontaneous, natural human friendship is becoming less frequent.

--Aaron Surin

Tour of Sanchez and El Limon

Saturday Wilma and Nico took me on a tour across the peninsula to a tourist-free remote beach, Los Corales (named after the abundant coral at the beach). Along the way, we stopped on a hill top looking down on Las Terrenas, went through the edge of the town of Sanchez on the southern coast of the peninsula where the bay begins, stopped for a pit stop at a roadside restaurant, had a great Dominican/Creole meal at the Santi Resaturant in El Limon, and ended up on the beach in Las Terrenas where the “bus” took me in 1987 looking for a private home to stay in (it cost me $2 per day, breakfast included).

You can click on the title of each photo to see it individually or click here to see them as a set. Please let me know if it works better for you with the individual links. It's more time consuming, but one friend said accessing the full set was slow for him. So I'm willing to do it that way if need be.

• Nico and Wilma at Bakery – first we did some shopping and had a croissant at an Italian bakery.
• On the Mountain Top – yours truly.
• Looking North to the Sea – the same view without me blocking it.
• The Eastern Edge of the Bay – on the southern side of the peninsula, looking down on the town of Sanchez.
• Boy and Horse Passing By -- I managed to capture them while we were stopped.
• An Old-Style Dominican Wooden House – now they use concrete.
• Los Corales Beach (2) – looking east.
• Los Corales Beach – looking west.
• Cows at Los Corales Beach.
• House at Los Corales Beach.
• Found Art.
• Nico Talking With Locals.
• Talking with Fisherman Waiting for Dark.
• Nico Pointing Out Mangrove Trees.
• Holding Up a Tree.
• The River Leading to the Sea.
• Four Locals Dropped By to Talk.
• River Meets Sea.
• Locals in Shallow Water.
• Roots Not Deep Enough.
• Hanging On with Deep Roots.
• Two Trees Bit the Dust.
• Coral at Los Corales Beach.
• Sea Weed Darkens the Water.
• The Mainland.
• Lush Greenery from a Roadside Restaurant.
• Santi Restaurant in El Limon.
• Family Style.
• Fantastic Plants.
• Fantastic Chairs.
• Where I First Landed in 1987.

Dominican Journal: Arrival

The timing on the flights to New York and Santo Domingo worked well. I was able to eat breakfast in New York and lunch in Santo Domingo after getting some sleep on each flight. These photos were taken on the second flight, one shot of the clouds, one of my seatmates, and one of the Samana peninsula on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, my destination.

The scene at the Santo Domingo airport taxi stand Saturday was chaotic, with a large number of uniformed employees competing for my attention. I walked to the desk and spoke to the man in the middle with my broken Spanish. He summoned another man who led me to the curb where a man wearing no uniform drove up in an unmarked car and to take me to my bus stop. Somewhat concerned given the circumstances, the ten-minute trip concluded with no problem and I paid the $13 agreed to at the taxi stand. A bus company employee helped me with my luggage, showed me the waiting room, and gave me a $9 ticket for the two-hour trip across the mountain to Las Terrenas.

At 4pm I got off at the first stop as directed by my hosts, where I encountered several men trying to persuade me to hire them for a ride. Fortunately the confusion prompted by my poor Spanish was relieved when Nico walked up and took me to his old Nissan pickup to take me to my apartment at El Flamboyan, the complex of five apartments owned and managed by Nico and his wife, Wilma, Dutch expats. To see its location on Google Maps, search for “El Flamboyan Apartments, Mariano Vanderhorst, Las Terrenas, Samana, Dominican Republic.”

These photos capture their lush, beautiful garden. My one-bedroom, fully furnished apartment is proving to be more than adequate and Nico and Wilma are very gracious, friendly, and helpful. They served me a simple meal the first night. The next two mornings they took me shopping in “the village” and helped me get oriented.  “We want to make you independent,” Nico said. “That’s better for you and better for us.”

My main concern is transportation. We’re about 30 minutes by foot from the center of town and the only taxis are “moto conchos,” motor scooters and small motorcycles. Being as large as I am, I’m a little concerned about how comfortable I’ll be on the back of those small vehicles. And it would be difficult to carry many purchases. But I’ll probably do one large shopping trip each week with Nico and otherwise do a lot of walking (which would be good for me!).

Saturday night we picked up Olga, a Russian friend of theirs, and went to the Etno Mixto 2013, a fascinating fair celebrating the multiculturalism of the area. It was like a San Francisco street fair, but on the beach at night! About ten countries were represented by food booths featuring their cuisine. A few advocacy organizations, mostly environmental, had booths with literature. At about 11pm the main stage presented a wide variety of music and dance presentations, including a history of rock-and-roll.

A fun, relaxing time with lots of friendly vibes. Despite the fact that it is partly a marketing scheme for tourism, I appreciated the affirmation of multiculturalism. To see photos and one video of the fair, click here.

Sunday afternoon Nico and Wilma took me for a walk on the beach which is about 300 yards from their complex. Being a bit removed from town, this beach is not crowded. It was high tide during our walk so there weren’t many spots to lie on the sand at that time. A reef at the nearby Point Bonita produces a very calm surf. A good number of people were in the water all along the coast. I haven’t gone in yet, but I’m sure it is as warm and shallow as I remember the beach near the village from my visit in 1987. I took these photos during our walk.

Close to our end point, we stopped at a restaurant for a drink. It turns out that the German owner lived for two years in Tepoztlan, where I owned property and visited during the winter until recently. He’s fluent in English and friendly, so I look forward to visiting with him again. When Nico asked him to compare Mexican and Dominican people, he said Mexicans are more stressed out and Dominicans here are happier and more carefree, with a great sense of humor. So far, I agree.

Nico said that the Samana peninsula is known in Santo Domingo as “the last pirate’s nest” because the police here are so lax to enforce laws like the seat belt requirement and drinking while driving. I suspect they are loose about other laws too. Because the English had more African slaves on the north coast, the population here is much darker than elsewhere in the Dominican. With San Francisco losing its African-American population, I find it refreshing to be amid so many dark-skinned people, for the stereotype is true. Black people do have more soul.

Along the Playa Bonita coast, there are many private homes, hotels, and apartments for short-term and long-term rental. I captured two in these photos. Nico guessed they cost $200 per day, considerably more than the $25 per day I pay. We’re three hundred yards from the beach, but I can live with that!

Now that I’ve bought some white tank tops to better handle the heat (highs range from 86 in February, 91 in August, 89 in October, and 88 in November; lows from 65 in February to 74 in August), learned to guard against sand fleas and mosquitos near sunset, located a massage therapist ($30 per hour, appointment tomorrow), and got my home organized, I hope to start working on my autobiography tomorrow.

I Was Wrong About Syria

I Was Wrong About Syria

By Wade Lee Hudson

As he threatened to bomb Syria, on September 3, in “Manufactured Crises” I wrote the following with Obama on my mind:

One result is that elite administrators choose not to “rock the boat.” They go along to get along in order to gain status and credibility. If they are lucky, they’ll leave a legacy for future generations.

The next week, still puzzled by Obama’s motivation, I once again cast aspersions on his motives when in “Obama and Syria” I wrote:

Obama by and large is non-ideological, which I like. But his claim that chemical warfare is qualitatively different from routine warfare is an abstraction of the highest order. 

I can only conclude that once again American foreign policy is being driven by internal domestic politics -- in this case, Obama not wanting to go down in history as "the President with the disappearing red line."

I have now decided that chemical weapons are qualitatively different. They are cheap, can be easily produced, and are most effective against civilian populations. If Syria were to disintegrate into a failed state with no centralized control over its chemical weapons, those weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists who could use them against nearby Russia and China, and perhaps the West.

Chemical weapons are also different in that most nations, including the United States and Russia, have agreed to destroy their stockpiles and have already begun to do so.

Since writing those two posts, I’ve learned that Obama proposed to Putin last year at the G20 summit in Mexico that they work together to get Syria to destroy its chemical weapons. So clearly something like the current scenario has been on Obama’s mind for some time.

But Obama also knew that Putin, whether for reasons of ego or domestic politics, would likely never consent to an initiative that was perceived as led by the United States. Putin also objected to the U.S. effort to help overthrow Assad as head of Syria, partly because he does not want Syria to fall apart as other Arab nations have recently. Again, he was profoundly concerned about chaos leading to terrorists gaining control of chemical weapons.

Obama was also well aware of the election of a moderate as President of Iran. Unknown to me when I wrote those posts, Obama had already secretly communicated with Iran’s new President and the signs were favorable. Iran shares Russia’s concern about the potential transfer of Syria’s chemical weapons. Like Russia, Iran is in the same neighborhood, has a history of conflict with Muslim extremists, and had cooperated with the West in the past with regard to the threat of Islamic terrorism.

Iran also has a great deal of influence over Syria. Obama no doubt saw Iran as another potential ally in an effort to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons.

Obama was also likely aware of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union wanted the United States to stop trying to overthrow Castro. So Khrushchev installed nuclear weapons in Cuba, brought the world to the brink of catastrophe, “blinked” when the United States established a blockade, and got the United States to secretly promise to stop its attacks on Cuba and withdraw its missiles from Turkey, which pacified his domestic opponents.

Obama also knew that the Republicans in Congress would oppose anything that he does that could bring him credit, many Democrats would oppose military action, and he was on record as saying that Congress should be required to authorize military action (while also saying the opposite).

Obama also that knew Russia and China would block UN Security Council approval and numerous allies would object, so bombing Syria would contradict his many affirmations of the need for international cooperation.

So, bearing in mind that one can never believe anything any politician ever says, one possibility is that Obama threatened to strike Syria knowing that he might very well not have to do so.

When strong opposition emerged in Congress, he quickly agreed to wait for Congress to act. That decision was so quick and unexpected, he probably had it on his mind all along.

Then Secretary of State John Kerry made his apparently offhand comment about Syria destroying its weapons and Putin jumped on it quickly in large part because he feared that a US strike would loosen control over chemical weapons. Again, the speed of Russia's response indicates that this scenario was “on the table” all along in some fashion. As a result, Russia was able to claim credit for the initiative, thereby avoiding any domestic charges of being Obama’s “poodle.”

Now the weapons are being destroyed and plans are being laid for a regional peace conference, which likely will enable Assad to stay in power (over much of Syria at least), as the Cuban Missile Crisis protected Castro in Cuba.

The militaristic rhetoric voiced by Obama is disturbing. Ideally other options would work more effectively. And we’ll never know for sure what Obama’s real motives were. But faced with the proliferation of Syria’s chemical weapons as a real immediate threat, he may have acted wisely.

And while so doing, without firing a shot, he was able to protect his domestic image and that of the Democratic Party, whom the Republicans accuse of being “soft.”

It ain’t pretty, but not much is when it comes to politics.