Charlie Hardy in Cowboy in Caracas, by Charlie Hardy

On Foreign Policy: I support peaceful revolution; Chavez is not a dictator

At the same time, another newspaper, Vheadline.com, contacted me to ask if they could reprint the editorial. I don't know how they had gotten hold of it, but with that my life took a turn. For forty years I had tried to be an advocate for the oppressed throughout the world.

In light of all the negative reporting in the U.S. press I decided that I should try to put my writing talents to work in favor of the peaceful revolution that was happening in Venezuela.

On Government Reform: US needs participatory--not just representative--democracy

From the time I was old enough to vote, I voted in every election. That is REPRESENTATIVE democracy. What we have in Venezuela is PARTICIPATORY democracy.

I had always had the idea that democracy meant that we had the right to elect our representatives but that, once they had been elected, you had to live with them until the next election.

Participatory democracy means that citizens, in addition to having the right to hold their elected officials accountable throughout their tenure, also have the right to be involved in the governing process.

And, although it might be considered political heresy or blasphemy to some in the US, as nations revise and develop new constitutions I wonder if the time has not come for the US to do the same.

On War & Peace: 1989: ran rescue mission as pastor in Venezuelan revolution

As I listened to the continuing fire from automatic weapons, I knew there as no place to hide. I knelt to pray; there was a knock at my door. A woman was shouting, "Charlie, my sister is dying. Please take her to the hospital."

I dressed like a priest, something I seldom did. In many ways the garb was appropriate. I was participating in the most profound liturgical celebration of my life, a Mass of the common people.

The woman's sister was diabetic and had gone into shock. For more than half an hour we drove through the barrios until we reached the Magallanes Public Hospital. Eventually, we all lay down on a cold hallway floor and tried to sleep until 6 a.m. when the curfew would be over and we could leave the hospital.