Dear From Wade Subscribers:

I’m suspending this list. However, I will be sending occasional notices to Wade’s Friends. If you did not receive the following Wade’s Friends email recently and want me to subscribe you to this list, please reply YES to this post. If you did receive it, I apologize for the cross-posting.

Wade

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Dear Friends

In recent weeks, dialogues with associates and reading Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death have prompted significant changes in my beliefs about the Compassionate Humanity Community website.

Accordingly, I’ve rewritten the Preface, which articulates my motives, and modified the homepage.

I no longer propose replacing the “Top-Down System” with a “Bottom-Up System.” Instead, I propose steadily reforming “the System” to make our society more compassionate, just, and democratic.

I use “would” and “could” to describe possibilities rather than a more ambitious vision imagined in the present tense.

Nevertheless, I still advocate a pragmatic idealism that affirms ideals as goals while accepting that we’ll never fully achieve them.

With the new Preface, I peel away surplus language and express my core beliefs.

I believe this worldview fills a void; it presents unique proposals for action.

The new Preface and homepage aren’t perfect. I’ll constantly improve them and the rest of the site and would greatly appreciate your assistance.

So please read the Preface and leave a public comment using the form at the bottom of the page.

Sincerely,

Wade Lee Hudson

Holistic Democracy
By Wade Lee Hudson
a digital book
constantly updated

Preface (9/3/24 Draft)

For 60 years, my colleagues and I organized egalitarian, supportive communities. Now, I sum up what I’ve learned. 

As I peeled away the layers of my motivations for writing this book, I repeatedly asked myself, “Why do I want to do that?” and concluded:

I feel morally obligated to encourage compassionate action, help empower individuals and communities, nurture deep respect for everyone’s essential equality, support the right to self-determination, and strengthen justice and democracy throughout society. 

So, on this website, I present resources to clarify what humanity is facing and what we can do about it. 

The modern world foments ruthless competition, suppresses cooperation, and advances selfishness. Individuals, organizations, businesses, and nations compete relentlessly to gain more power, money, and respect — by any means necessary. 

Politicians, for instance, take extraordinary measures, including waging war, to stay in office, and nations inflame conflicts between foreign forces to enhance their power (divide and conquer). 

These problems are interconnected. They reproduce and reinforce each other. 

Society integrates our multiple systems into a single self-perpetuating social system that encourages everyone to climb social ladders, look down on, exploit, and dominate those below, and submit to those above. 

Various problems such as climate change, unrestrained capitalism, and autocratic politicians are symptoms of this underlying root cause, the Top-Down System. 

This reality calls for replacing this system with a Bottom-Up System dedicated to serving humanity, the environment, and life itself (day by day, in countless ways, face-to-face, person-to-person) and maximizing democratic control in every arena.

Society could ensure that everyone has enough to live comfortably within caring communities. This security would free everyone to pursue their dreams, care for their families, and engage in other creative and rewarding recreational activities. 

Humanity will never fully achieve this ideal. Nevertheless, guided by pragmatic idealism focused on winnable objectives, practical steps can move in this direction. This ideal can serve as our North Star. Step by step, steadily moving in this direction, compassion-minded people can minimize problems and pioneer new solutions. 

Improvements in each arena can strengthen each other in a positive upward spiral. This growth can lead to the emergence of a society that looks and feels fundamentally different. New structures can organize activities to nurture compassionate action, mutual support, self-determination, individual liberty, community empowerment, and true justice. 

Successful efforts can demonstrate models for others to adopt, adapt, and scale up. Each success can generate unforeseen ripple effects and open up new achievable objectives. 

Regardless of who wins elections, each nation needs an effective independent force to hold elected officials accountable and push for policy improvements — a movement similar to yet more powerful than the union, civil rights, and women’s movements — a movement of movements whose members, beyond politics, work to transform the whole society into a compassionate community dedicated to relieving suffering, promoting justice, and spreading joy.

A network of small teams whose members build trust, affirm core principles, and support each other with self-improvement could be the foundation for this movement.

United behind a shared commitment that our primary problem is the Top-Down System and the solution is a Bottom-Up System, this movement could mobilize enough people to persuade their government to improve lives with new policies while engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, including strikes, when necessary. 

Unfortunately, however, ego-driven power struggles, arrogance, judgmental criticisms, scapegoating opponents and allies, and other personal weaknesses produce lingering resentment, divide people, and weaken organizations. 

James Baldwin declared, “I really do believe that we can all become better than we are. I know we can.  But the price is enormous, and people are not yet willing to pay it.” 

All of us are victims of society’s programming, but we have the power to create alternative futures. If political and social activists face these realities, confess personal mistakes, and resolve to avoid them, they can overcome divisive habits and enhance their power. Movement members could support each other with self-improvement and cultivate a sense of belonging to a large, global community.

This digital book, rooted in a unique worldview, promotes the development of this movement. It integrates the personal and the political and affirms self-development as an inherently worthy goal and a way to nurture fundamental social transformation. 

As such, it aims to fill a void. I know no activist organization whose members set aside time to support their self-improvement.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss these ideas with you and others. I will dialogue with an open mind. My learning is an ongoing process. 

Dear Wade’s Wire Subscriber:

I appreciate your subscription and the occasional feedback some of you have offered. However, I’m suspending Wade’s Wire.  

Support for my efforts has been lukewarm, and participation has declined, which leads me to this step. I’m also suspending the weekly FromWade. , the monthly Mutual Empowerment newsletter, and all other outreach efforts for the Compassionate Humanity Community website. 

I’ll continue researching questions that puzzle me, write about my results (which will clarify my thinking), and put reports on these efforts on the website. To see changes to the site, you can visit What’s New. 

If and when readers post or email me comments, I’ll discuss them. I may also engage in one-on-one interviews or small group dialogues and post them. 

The site’s resources are a reference book for me. I use them to refresh my memory, draw on its content, and document my arguments. 

Still, I resign myself to my relative solitude. It seems the site, as conceived, will likely never attract substantial engagement in the near future. Most people are narrowly focused and/or self-centered, and no one wants to collaborate actively with me.

Since 1967, I’ve dedicated my life to integrating the personal and the political. More recently, with colleagues, we’ve co-convened several workshops exploring how personal growth practitioners and political activists might learn from each other and improve their efforts by incorporating others’ best practices. As James Baldwin said, “The messiness of the world is reflected in the messiness of our interior lives.” I’ve also experimented with many methods that could help with these efforts and written about successful experiments.

The Compassionate Humanity Community project has promoted the following:

• Holistic reform.
• A network of small teams that affirm the System as the primary problem.
• Mutual support for self-improvement (especially unlearning the desire to dominate and the willingness to submit).
• A powerful grassroots holistic reform movement similar to yet more powerful than the union, civil rights, and women’s movements. 

Many obstacles block progress on these goals. 

Baldwin declared, “I really do believe that we can all become better than we are. I know we can.  But the price is enormous, and people are not yet willing to pay it.” 

In “Desire, Dopamine, and the Internet,” L. M. Sacasas, editor of The Convivial Society, wrote:

Human beings will naturally seek distractions rather than confront their thoughts in moments of solitude and quiet because those thoughts will eventually lead them to consider unpleasant matters such as their mortality, the vanity of their endeavors, and the general frailty of the human condition. 

We are all of us kings now surrounded by devices [that] prevent us from thinking about ourselves.

Fear rules. 

I may be ahead of my time or living in the clouds. Regardless, I’m alone or largely alone. I resign myself to this reality and pause to reconsider my tactics.

Bob Dylan wrote, “I’d become my enemy in the instant that I preach.” But what does it mean to preach, and what is wrong with it?

To preach is to strongly advocate a firmly held belief or encourage a specific course of action with intense conviction. It involves one-way efforts to persuade, convert, and recruit. 

Certain situations, such as political campaigns, justify this approach. (However, even here, a less top-down approach that involves more listening and learning may be more effective.)

I fear I’ve been pretentious, grandiose, arrogant, and utopian — preaching and indulging in “the vanity of (my) endeavors.” I’m no polymath. I’m a “slow thinker.” My memory is limited. 

Now, I’ll try to be more humble. I’ll continue to try to learn more, share my discoveries, discuss them with anyone interested, and listen to and learn from others’ thoughts and feelings. I’ll continue to pursue Truth, Justice, Beauty, and Virtue. I’ll do more suggesting and less proposing. 

I’d like to inspire people to engage in deep self-examination and mutual support to reduce suffering and promote justice, but I don’t expect these efforts to achieve much in my lifetime. Maybe the website will be my legacy that others find valuable in after I die. 

Regardless, my efforts reward me intrinsically. 

Carry it on, 

Wade

Dear Subscriber,

Do you want to continue receiving Wade’s Wire? If so, why? And how might I improve it to serve you better?

Yours,
Wade

Charles Duhigg, author, “Supercommuicators,” Interview

Well, whether it is expletive filled letter writing or the kind of political campaigning we discussed earlier in the program, there’s one skill they both require and that is effective communication. Of course, throughout history and still today, it’s a tool of the powerful for both good and bad, but it’s also crucial in all of our daily lives, in the workplace, in our personal relationships, and more than ever online.

So, how can we communicate better and make that a force for positive change? Author Charles Duhigg explores this question in his new book, “Supercommunicators.” And here he is speaking to Walter Isaacson.

WALTER ISAACSON, CO-HOST, AMANPOUR AND CO.: Thank you, Christiane. And, Charles Duhigg, welcome to the show.

CHARLES DUHIGG, AUTHOR, “SUPERCOMMUNICATORS”: Thank you for having me.

ISAACSON: So, this book, “Supercommunicators,” it’s all about how to have a great conversation, how to convince people. Tell me, what is the point of a conversation?

DUHIGG: It’s a great question. The point of a conversation is to understand each other, right? It’s not to convince you that I’m right and you’re wrong or that you should like me or think I’m smart. The point of a conversation and a conversation is a success, if I understand how you see the world and I’m able to speak in a way that you understand how I see the world. And that means that we could walk away from that conversation disagreeing with each other and it’s still a success.

ISAACSON: But what you talk about is that a conversation must make a connection. What do you mean by that?

DUHIGG: What we know about when we have conversations is that our neural activity becomes similar. And that makes sense because when I describe an 

emotion to you or an idea, you actually experience that emotion or that idea a little bit.

Within psychology and neurology, this is known as neural entrainment. And it’s at the core of how we communicate with each other. And so, when we make that connection, when we have a great conversation, when we feel like we’re on the same wavelength, it feels wonderful because our brains have evolved to crave that kind of communication and connection…. 

And one of the things that we know about conversations is that when we ask questions, when we ask a special kind of question known as a deep question, it tends to change a monologue into a dialogue because we really listen to the other person. And when we prove that we’re listening, they become more willing to listen to us.

[read more]

Fareed on Why Biden Is Unpopular
Despite a Strong Economy
By Fareed Zakaria

“…The left needs to play more effectively on the new crossroads of politics, where culture and class have replaced economics.”

This Is the Best Way for Biden to Talk About the Economy
By Tim Wu

To succeed in the 2024 election, Mr. Biden needs to convince voters that he has begun a long fight against today’s toxic form of capitalism. He needs them to understand that he is making the economy fairer and more productive. He needs to explain that Donald Trump’s invocations of economic grievance are real and justified…
Tim Wu
The New York Times

Enemies, Saviors, and Reconciliation
By Wade Lee Hudson

Our winner-take-all society demonizes “enemies,” elevates “saviors,” and promotes hyper-partisanship. Alternatively, King’s Philosophy of nonviolent struggle recommends that activists pursue reconciliation.

Nonviolence seeks friendship and understanding with the opponent. Nonviolence does not seek to defeat the opponent. Nonviolence is directed against evil systems, forces, oppressive policies, unjust acts, but not against persons. Through reasoned compromise, both sides resolve the injustice with a plan of action. Each act of reconciliation is one step closer to the Beloved Community.

I’d love to see Democrats control Congress and the White House. Too often, however, Democrats dismiss Trump supporters as “irredeemable deplorables,” express amazement about how anyone could vote for Trump, and don’t try to understand his supporters. This approach is counterproductive.

To clarify my understanding, I asked ChatGPT, “Why does Trump’s base support him?” Its response included:

• Populist Messaging: Trump’s populist approach appeals to many voters who feel disenfranchised or ignored by the political establishment…. 

• He is promising to prioritize the interests of the United States.

• Anti-Establishment Sentiment: Trump’s non-politician background and tendency to challenge political norms and the status quo appeal to those disillusioned with traditional politicians and the political establishment.

• His supporters often accuse the mainstream media of being biased.

• For some, Trump’s positions on social and cultural issues, including his opposition to political correctness and his support for law enforcement, align with their values and concerns.
• Their support is as much about belonging to a community or movement as it is about policy or ideology.

David Brooks wrote:

We’re in the middle of the global surge in populism. Populism is belief that there’s a conflict, a class conflict. And the conflict is between the real Americans and the globalized elites. And in America, it’s mostly measured by levels of education. So it’s people with a high school degree who tend to be working class and feel they are being oppressed, looked down upon, condescended to, and morally scorned by members of the highly educated elites who live along the coasts.

Fareed Zakaria summarizes the issues as “class, culture, and tribalism.”

Compassion-minded people must address these concerns by building a united grassroots movement that promotes pragmatic populism and meets the need for deep community. The Democratic Party can support this effort with this message:

Many Americans feel powerless, disrespected, resentful, insecure, and neglected — for good reason. Our society primarily serves the interests of the wealthy elite, the highly educated, and those who hold positions of power. 

The Democratic Party has not adequately addressed these realities. We must do better. We must change how we organize our society and treat each other. 

We need a moral America. We must honor the Golden Rule and treat others as we would want them to treat us if we were in their shoes. We must talk less, listen more, and fight for compassionate policies most Americans support.

Wealthy and powerful elites are selfish. They want more money and power to tell others what to do. They don’t worry about how they hurt others and the environment. Too many Americans admire them and do the same. We can do better. 

We, the American people, can stand together and care for others, knowing we depend on each other. We can help each other and our society become kinder and fairer. We can set up ways to help people better understand each other, including ways for citizens to engage in dialogue with elected officials. 

We can guarantee everyone a dignified life rooted in economic security. We can break up monopolies that keep prices too high. We can limit Big Money in politics and lobbyists going back and forth through “the revolving door” between corporations and Congress. We can stop elected officials from investing in the stock market and using their office to enrich themselves. We can stop the government from violating individual liberties and ensure the government is no larger than needed to promote the general welfare. We can strengthen family farms and rural economies. We can enforce laws against discrimination, prevent cruel and unusual punishment, and ensure everyone can vote in free and fair elections. 

These are some of the steps we can take to move forward. Congress must determine how to do this through debate and compromise. 

The starting point, however, must be a moral foundation that sets aside the materialistic “what’s in it for me” mindset and the belief “it’s the economy, stupid,” and focus instead on the common good, trusting that the more you benefit, the more I will benefit. 

Paradoxically, the best way for Democrats to win a decisive victory is to focus less on defeating Republicans and more on serving humanity, cultivating compassion, and promoting justice. The “us-versus-them” mentality limits progress. Instead, Democrats should promote a positive-sum mindset centered on respect and dignity for every individual and a strong sense of morality — simply doing the right thing.

Unfortunately, however, the Democratic and Republican parties reinforce moral corruption. Once elected, officials face powerful, corrupting influences. They focus on winning the next election by any means necessary. 

Whether any one politician is morally corrupt or virtuous is impossible to day. We can only judge them by their actions, not their character. We can judge without being judgmental. 

However, if they say nothing about whether their behavior is morally right or wrong, if they don’t discuss morality, we can justifiably say they’re being amoral, by definition.

I don’t know why Joe Biden decided to run for re-election even though numerous other Democrats would be stronger candidates, and his determination to run makes it more likely that Trump will be elected. However, in “Democrats Have a Better Option than Biden,” Ezra Klein envisions that there’s still time for Biden to step aside, open the Convention, and let the delegates select the candidate. 

Unless the poll numbers improve quickly, I hope he does — and says he’s doing it because it’s moral. Then I’ll say he acted ethically without saying anything about his moral character.

We can’t count on any President or the Democratic Party to save us. We need a mass movement that forces them to do the right thing.

Readers’ Comments

Kathy Labriola:
I appreciate your explanation of your essay, and in calling Biden amoral, although I do disagree very strongly and do not think he is amoral. I believe he has a strong moral compass and that he has proven that over the decades in his work as a Senator and his votes in the Senate, and as VP under Obama and as President over the past 4 years. I believe his position so far on Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians is very very wrong, and that this is an aberration from his usual clear sense of right and wrong, and that he has been deluded by nearly 80 years of of US foreign policy in supporting Israel no matter what. I believe he felt he had no choice but to continue this completely immoral policy of military aid to Israel because it had so much history behind it and it is extremely hard to force the nation to change course on something that is so entrenched. I believe that in the past few weeks, he has shifted to trying to force Israel’s government into a cease fire and has threatened to with hold aid. So I believe that, finally, his moral sense that supporting this mass slaughter is wrong, has come to the forefront and he will act to stop Israel from invading Rafah.

This may not really be what you were addressing, but I feel that it is very unfair to call Joe Biden amoral, when he is running against Trump who is such a psychopath and has no conscience whatsoever and who rapes women, commits fraud, and caused an insurrection that killed people and tried to overturn a democratic election.

Roger Marsden:
Yes, good points – very hard to know precisely what motivates Biden, i.e., he could care less about Palestinians; he prioritizes our toe hold in the Middle East via Israel; he’s not in control of these geopolitical issues; he thinks this is “working.” ??  and what we do know is that US funding and arming an ugly genocide. If one criticizes that are we increasing the chance of getting trump elected?     Overall I think it’s best to tell the truth as best we know it (and maybe that creates pressure for our lead politicians to act in a moral manner).

NOTE: After watching Rhonda Magee’s presentation to the Upaya Zen Center (the video is here), I emailed them:

Dear Rhonda and Joan:

Following are my notes from the session with Rhonda. I plan to post it on the Compassionate Humanity Community website. If you see the need for corrections or additions, please let me know.

I wonder, What institutional or structural changes do you recommend? 

And, do we need to provide mutual support for unlearning or controlling the desire to dominate and submit for personal gain, which our society inflames, so we can better relieve others’ suffering and promote justice?

With love,
Wade

Joan replied, “thank you. this is wonderful.” Rhonda replied, “Wonderful, indeed. Thank you, dear brother Wade. I will review and respond to your questions within the coming few days. With appreciation, hope and love.”