Visits: 1
To say that the Americans and the former Soviet Union were not on speaking terms from 1950’s up to the 90’s would be like saying Michael Jordan was a decent basket player. In the 80’s, Russia was off limits to Americans and the only time the American government saw the Russian leader was the annual visit to Lenin’s tomb. So, two countries with enough nukes to destroy the world a dozen times are so mad at each other that they won’t even speak to each other.
It’s a recipe for a disaster, right? Enter hot tub politics. In 1962, The Esalen institute was established to explore art, religion, psychedelic drugs and mysticism. It was a new age retreat centre that attracted people best described as “White collar hippies.” The people at Esalen institute didn’t think that the Americans and the Soviet union being at odds with stakes so high was a great idea so they invited any Soviets who could travel to America to stay at the institute to keep communication between the two countries alive.
American and Soviet writers, engineers, astronauts, scientists and many other professionals all mixed at a sunny retreat centre with hot tubs and a view of the ocean in Southern California. The networking that took place at the Esalen institute made it possible for citizens to talk to each other when the two most powerful governments were scratching their heads to figure out the same thing.
So, what does any of this matter to you? A relaxing environment allowed regular citizens to do what their governments couldn’t. Imagine what you could do if you were able to work from a hot tub or a beach or a hammock.