Interpreting Scientology: A Short and Incomplete Essay

Frederick Nietzsche, a shrewd observer of cultural trends, predicted that the gravest danger ushered in by modernism was the specter of nihilism.

It arises with the collapse of traditional beliefs, which in earlier times provided stability, consolation and hope in the face of adversity. With the loss of stable meanings and ethical bearings, a person might come to believe anything in order to forestall anxiety and hopelessness. Nietzsche insisted that the more a society relies upon an essentially soulless remedial science and technology to alleviate life’s inevitable sufferings, the greater our tendency to fall back upon primitive belief systems to provide balance and sustenance. Or in more contemporary language, the more sanitized, digitized and computerized our culture becomes, paradoxically the more atavistic, bizarre and esoteric are the belief systems with which we comfort ourselves in order to redress a natural imbalance.

The ongoing presence of SCIENTOLOGY highlights the extent of our current spiritual malaise.

Its public pitches, visible on late night television, features a thunderous lava spewing volcano with a portentous voice-over extolling the miracle of DIANETICS, a quack mental health therapy hurriedly concocted by the late L Ron Hubbard. The advertisement has the subtlety of a snarling carnival barker evoking Hubbard's (he died in 1986 under mysterious circumstances) uninhibited flair for the melodramatic.

The pseudo-science of DIANETICS first appeared as a cultural artifact in 1950. Hubbard toured the country following the publication of his seminal best-seller "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health," glibly peddling it as an easy self-help method redressing the entire spectrum of psychic and psychosomatic complaints suffered by a post-war America. DIANETICS assures its practitioners of improved human communications, better health ("freedom from the common cold"), enhancement of perception, improved memory, higher IQ, and increased personal empowerment. But its failure to deliver its therapeutic promises, internal financial mismanagement, boredom with the new fad, and increased scrutiny by the medical establishment led to its rapid fall from public grace.

Yet L Ron Hubbard was not your run of the mill flimflam artiste. He disclosed a doggedness and resiliency astonishing legions of detractors.

Hubbard surreptitiously resurrected DIANETICS by incorporating it into his 1953 unveiling of SCIENTOLOGY, by Hubbard’s account an "applied religious technology."

Prior to the birth of DIANETICS, however, Hubbard had intimated his destiny to close associates, namely, to start a religion with himself wielding papal authority, for as Hubbard asserted, "that’s where the real money can be made." The collapse of his short-lived DIANETICS empire prompted Hubbard to redouble his efforts. He transposed central elements ("auditing," a form of confessional counseling) into a foundation for an entire religious system. By so doing he might with impunity generate millions of dollars while keeping criticism and possible interference from organized medicine and IRS at arms length.

While consummating his vision and formulating his "scriptures" Hubbard highlighted his unrepentant zest for plagiarism. He collaged a pastiche of carelessly stricken thought from the more sober writings of philosophers ranging from Plato and Descartes to William James and Sigmund Freud.

For good measure he then liberally spiced his pedantic understanding of these luminaries with his own fondness for the science-fiction space opera. The creator of SCIENTOLOGY then insisted that these ideas originated in his own meditations upon "the meaning of life." Unknown to most, Hubbard often fueled his feverish ruminations with an exotic combination of alcohol, cocaine and amphetamines. His drug induced reveries are unequivocally accepted as absolute truth by thousands of followers, while Hubbard remains referred to in hushed tones as "Source."

Hubbard forged SCIENTOLOGY into a self-enclosed system of "absolute truths" inscribed not upon pillars of stone, but in a turgid typewritten legacy spanning several decades. One learns its core beliefs through a prolonged, esoteric (teachings with many hidden levels of indoctrination) series of courses lasting many years and costing the adept hundreds of thousands of dollars. The dedicated SCIENTOLOGIST discovers the necessity for total recall of his or her "past lives." After a protracted spell of preparation one discovers that Hubbard's "Bridge to Total Freedom" eventually entails exorcising countless numbers of "body thetans."

These entities consist of the purportedly orphaned spirits of deceased space aliens, which in the wake of an eons ago galactic cataclysm obstreperously attached themselves in desperation to our primal human ancestors. One also learns of Xenu, a ruthless inter-stellar dictator responsible for this catastrophe.

The persistence of these parasites causes all our human woes and prevents one's full self-determination.

Exorcising them via Scientology "processes" enables one to reclaim the native and unlimited superhuman spiritual powers of the "operating thetan" (OT) residing at the core of our being. This cosmological episode remains the central, but publicly undisclosed incident in the extant "Scriptures" of SCIENTOLOGY founder Hubbard.

In his youth "Ron" showcased his talents as a mediocre and struggling author of pulp fiction.

As a college dropout who was later relieved of his naval post (for his inability to follow orders) in WW2, he often took solace fictionalizing his own life as well. By the late 1940's his career as a writer faltered. Looking for guidance he came across the writings of satanist Aleister ("Do What Thou Wilt") Crowley. Hubbard became an acolyte and began to enthusiastically practice the black arts. Crowley's dark affirmations remained an enduring but unpublicized source of inspiration for him during frequent and lifelong bouts with depression.

The self-enclosed SCIENTOLOGY belief system and its defensive organizational structure testify to the paranoia, cynicism, megalomania and opportunism of its author. It also discloses the boundless and tragic gullibility of those craving relief from life's vicissitudes. For in the end SCIENTOLOGY delivers nothing other than mind bending mystification and harsh internal social controls to keep blinders over the eyes of its brain-washed adherents.

Rather than empower its membership, it disempowers them to the point of abject slavery. Quickly after entering the SCIENTOLOGY edifice a person with sufficient wherewithal discovers himself enclosed in a sinister hall of mirrors with no discernible exit. The "spiritual growth" so vociferously testified to by members is flagrantly hollow to the eyes of a casual outsider. It has credence only within the limited social milieu of the organization itself. Peering through the windows of any SCIENTOLOGY establishment one glimpses only the vacuous camaraderie of a precarious internal confidence game.

SCIENTOLOGY in fact discourages a members efforts on his or her own behalf towards greater self-awareness.

For an excess of awareness might prompt one to leave. Nor has it any interest of the welfare of its individual membership. Rather, only organizational goals matter in stark contrast to its public dissemination. SCIENTOLOGY's method of attracting newcomers entails a classic "bait and switch"

scenario. It promises prospective members freedom and expansion. Once inside they discover constriction and slavery. One experiences a harshly conditioning atmosphere comprised of coercion, extortion and exploitation. And this treatment is "for your own good." Those offering positive testimonial to the virtues of its confessional counseling methods ("auditing") and administrative procedures do so under command and severe duress. SCIENTOLOGY maintains a rigorous system of administrative controls ("ethics"). In addition to peer pressures to conform, an omnipresent "ethics" scrutinizes the behavior of its membership very closely and ruthlessly deals with instances of complaining, nonconformity or poor production ("statistics").

Within the confines of Scientology one notices discovers an alarming absence of warmth among the membership. Rather they come across as robots programmed solely for efficiency. A tenuous institutionalized sense of cooperation and solidarity is evinced amongst those situated in the lower rungs of the organizational apparatus interfacing with the public. These are the newer recruits. Yet once one pierces this veneer the coercive atmosphere that keeps the organization intact and its recruitment and monetary goals on target become readily apparent.

SCIENTOLOGY is a cult, paradigmatically so. Cult Expert Stephan Hassan of the American Family Foundation and author of "Releasing the Bonds"

cites these characteristics endemic to cult behavior:

1. Forming an elitist totalitarian society 2. Isolating members from society at large in a physical and/or psychological manner, forcing them to cut ties with family and friends who are not part of the group 3. Using deception in recruiting and/or fundraising 4. Control by a messianic or charismatic self-appointed leader not accountable to the membership 5. Instilling a fear in leaving the group 6. Controlling information that members are allowed to receive 7. Using thought control regimens such as debilitating labor regimens, denunciating sessions, hypnotic routines, etc. to block normal thinking criteria 8. Promoting exclusive dependence on other members of the group 9. Punishing dissent, doubt and disobedience 10. Inducing members to commit unethical and criminal behavior because "the ends justify the means"

11. Forces members to undergo frequent self-criticism and humiliation as a part of indoctrination L. Ron Hubbard was an infantile, narcissistic and megalomaniacal charlatan, the consummate sado-masochistic death worshipper. Incapable of exercising discipline over his own morbid inclinations he vented his next option, to eat, digest and subsume those he could lure into his schizoid domain. Judge Paul Breckinridge of the Los Angeles Superior Court noted in 1984 while ruling in a lawsuit against Scientology: "[The court record is] replete with evidence [that Scientology] is nothing in reality but a vast enterprise to extract the maximum amount of money from its adepts by pseudo scientific theories...

and to exercise a kind of blackmail against persons who do not wish to continue with their sect....

The organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard."

Hubbard's goal purportedly was to "clear the planet," to wit, forcing the world to accept his version of "enlightenment" and "eliminate without sorrow" (in Hubbard's own words) those resisting his sinister world view.

Hubbard's penchant for objectification and dehumanization may be unprecedented in any system of thought skulking behind the moniker of religion. The founder of SCIENTOLOGY derisively uses the term "raw meat" as reference to potential initiates into his system. More generally, Hubbard vulgarizes language by transforming living and transitive verbs into reified "things" ("is-ness," "having-ness"

represent typical examples of Scientology neologisms...the tendency is to attach "ness" to verbs in a cadaverous conversion to nouns). His proclivity was to deaden and subsume language in a similar fashion as his system does to its followers. Within his writings Hubbard reflexively employs the term "planet" in reference to the world in which we live. Though the objectification of our life-world has a purpose within the discursive context of astronomy or cosmology, we as human beings do not live "on a planet." Rather, we live in a world. This world is essentially a biologically and socially founded one upon which Hubbard turned his back.

Hubbard's legacy of renouncing the larger social world other than as a fresh market for "raw meat"

continues in the baleful and defensive glower of Scientology's most ardent practitioners strolling the streets of downtown Clearwater, Florida.

Here march the somnolescent paramilitary vanguard of the cult, the uniformed "SEA ORG," robotically advancing into the darkest of spiritual cul de sacs, bound to their masochistic rapture and "billion year" contracts. These are the humorless, brain-washed, passive and glazed-eyed consumers of L Ron Hubbards impoverished semantic universe, torturous and self-nullifying "religious technology"

and paranoid delusions of grandeur. The most flagrant abuses that Scientology exacts upon its practitioners and outsiders daring to criticize it include a patterned history of the following:

? Usurious and relentless mandatory "tithing"

requirements in exchange for its confessional counseling techniques, typically costing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars ? The use of materials culled during confessionals for purposes of blackmail in the event a member decides to leave or publicly cast aspersions upon Scientology ? A paramilitary police force ("SEA ORG") acting upon the whims of top SCIENTOLOGY management aimed primarily at quashing internal dissent and lack of discipline, but also employed as a tacit threat to public critics ? A gulag-like system of labor camps within which it places recalcitrant SEA ORG members. This system is known as the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF).

? Harassment and threats against former members or public critics who dare speak out against the organization or attempt to publicly disclose its abuses. These typically take the form of gathering information about the critic through shady private detectives and/or abusing the judicial system by litigating frivolous lawsuits against those who dare to speak out. This represents a concerted effort to leave critics financially destitute due to the costs of defending oneself through prolonged litigation.

? Compilation of an "enemies list" by the security apparatus of Scientology known as the Office of Special Affairs International ("OSAI") ? The alleged OSAI blackmailing of several top members of the IRS, including former commissioner Fred Goldberg that led to the IRS decision to recognize Scientology as a bona fide church and grant it tax exempt status in 1993.

? An attempt by Scientology operatives to shut down discussion groups and postings on the Internet that attempt to bring public attention to the criminal activities of the cult.

SCIENTOLOGY bears an uncanny resemblance to the vampire bat. It parasitically consumes whatever resources a person has in his or her capacity that the organization finds useful. In return the cult offers unfettered advancement upon Hubbard's "bridge" to "total freedom," a "bridge" that grounds its appeal upon one's most shallow aspiration, the craving for power and control over others.

It results in financial destitution, madness and death. When one runs out of money after selling the house and maxing out the credit cards then one contributes labor in return for its counseling services. SCIENTOLOGY receives tacit support through residency in a postmodern culture where little seems real anymore, a world pervasive with relentless and seductive imagery in which we suffer a dearth of genuine presence. Dostoyevsky observed, "When God is dead, everything is permitted."

The cult avidly exploits social confusion and our current inability to discern between the probable, the possible and the utterly fantastical.

A few years ago SCIENTOLOGY became sensitive to its public image and hired main-line consultants to redress a tarnished reputation. The cult began a series of public relations efforts ostensibly in the name of community outreach. These included education, drug rehabilitation, and various "charities."

This is a flimsy canard designed to prettify the organization's image rather than deal substantially with social concerns having real weight. Its Narconon drug rehab program serves primarily as a conduit to lead patients directly after treatment into Scientology. Such efforts provide a shabby cloaking device for its motives. These are levers to influence the most naive public opinion and corruptible politicians. The cult's primary agenda remains luring the unwary into the shabby nightmare of L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction soap opera to enlarge the scope of its current social influence.

Most long time members having scant idea of where to turn for help when subjected to SCIENTOLOGY human rights abuses having long ago severed their ties to friends and family in the outside world.

By isolation and milieu control the cult keeps its mystifications intact. Nor do many have the emotional leverage to leave. They implicitly realize that real life awaits them beyond the immediate confines of the organization. A tragic paradox ensues: they enter a nightmare more lethal than any they might have encountered on the outside.

The escapist flight from the real invariably exacts a heavy toll.

Public opposition against Scientology has a relatively brief history with respect to the time-line depicting the cult's founding and consolidation of power.

Until as recently as ten years ago most critics and ex-members were invariably "shuddered into silence" by the Scientology legal apparatus, its army of private detectives and the Office of Special Affairs that spared little expense in concocting dirty tricks to ruthlessly cower detractors. Newspaper and magazine editors were in the main fully aware of Scientology's well earned reputation for litigation and were understandably shy in their coverage of the cult. Then a series of events occurred to level the playing field.

In May of 1991 "Time Magazine" courageously published a cover story disclosing the cults activities and abuses. Though sued by cult lawyers, "Time"

went on to prevail in court though its legal expenses ran into the millions (a couple of years earlier "The Los Angeles Times" had published a series on Scientology, but this lacked national exposure). At least, however, a broad public alert was issued. With the advent of the Internet, former members and critics at large began to congregate, network, organize and exchange information and experiences in relative safety from the Scientology tentacles.

Though the cult attempted to silence the on-line activity, its frantic efforts to censor caught the attention of Robert Minton of Boston, a successful investment banker considering early retirement.

He quickly learned of the full brunt of Scientology's animosity by experiencing it head-on himself...and a war commenced that continues unabated. Responding to the SCIENTOLOGY presence in Clearwater, Florida, Minton founded the Lisa McPherson Trust early this year (LMT). McPherson was a long-time and devout SCIENTOLOGIST who suffered a psychotic break, dying 17 days later while under cult supervision in late 1994 . In the wake of her mental breakdown she was isolated in a small dark room of the Fort Harrison Hotel (Scientology Headquarters) and denied reputable medical assistance. During her period of sequestration she lost 60 pounds, refused to eat and slept constantly when not breaking into sudden outbursts of hysteria. Scientology assumed no responsibility for her deterioration and cavalierly treated her death as a mere public relations flap. McPherson became a martyr and a rallying point for those aware of the true nature of Scientology. In her name Minton opened an office in Clearwater situated but a stone's throw from the Fort Harrison Hotel. This became the Lisa McPherson Trust. Its goals and policies are:

? Tell their members and the public the truth about the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

? Tell their members and the public the truth about the history of Dianetics and Scientology.

? Cease all illegal, unethical and harassing activities against their own members and those who criticize or disagree with Scientology.

? Revoke the policies and practices that violate the civil and human rights of Scientologists and those who criticize or disagree with Scientology.

? Revoke the policy of practicing medicine without a license and preventing people from receiving proper medical treatment.

? Stop using and abusing the legal system as a means of harassment.

? Stop keeping the technology of Scientology secret if it truly has the power to help the human race.

? Encourage Scientologists to speak freely among themselves. Urge them to communicate with family and friends, even those who may disagree with Scientology.

? End the practice of "disconnection."

? Revoke the policy and practice of using private and personal material from confidential counseling sessions to blackmail, harass and intimidate.

? Stop using duress to extract exorbitant sums of money from their members.

More to follow later...

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