Hey there.

Have you ever looked around you while walking around Los Angeles? Do you ever notice other kids your age, driving cars, shopping for clothes, enjoying a meal on a restaurant patio?

Some of them are devoted to saving the world, and dedicate some of their time to saving the environment, being politically active, adopting causes. But children, these kids aren't spending 99% of their time running on the Hamster Wheel to Toadle Freedom!

Youth is a time of discovery. Parties with friends, a day at the beach, your first car, dating, and learning what the real world is all about.

Have you ever been to the mountains or the desert? Or, is your time spent within the Scientology reality bubble?

So much of what Scientology is teaching you is not true. If you're reading this, it's possible that you, yourself have nagging doubts, but you keep them to yourself, don't you? Because you know what will happen if you dare to share them with a confidant... Knowledge Reports reports, Ethics, the RPF.

Kids, out in the real world, we have the right to speak out about things we feel aren't "right." Real communication means sharing your thoughts with others, and getting their input. I have met many ex-Scientologists. They are, like you, often intelligent people who misplaced their trust. One thing I think is interesting is, they all harbored these doubts. So, if there are things about the Sea Org that bother you, be assured that the people around you are also harboring doubts about Scientology, yet none of you dare to mention them for fear of reprisal.

This isn't freedom! The gate to the Auschwitz concentration camp had a message to the prisoners on it; 'Arbeit macht frei,' work makes you free. The Nazis twisted these words around, being in a concentration camp (Sea Org and/or RPF) doing slave labor isn't freedom!

You are at a time in your life when you should be getting your first car and exploring the world around you. Like the song says, 'Nobody walks in L.A."

You should be playing at the beach. You should have your first job, and be earning your own money for toys like Ipods, computers, video games. You should have a dog. You should have real friends, who like you for who you are, friendship not dependant upon membership in a group.

Saving the world is a noble endeavor. But Scientology is a mock-up; the organization isn't really working in that direction. Deep down inside, you probably know this, but you don't want to know. Your youth is being stolen. Many members, when they finally leave, are in their 20s and 30s. You can never get the time back when you are free to explore the world. You'll be spit out as an adult into the real world, with no skills, no connections, no friends. It's harder as you get older.

Right now, there's still time to go to school and learn to do something you enjoy. Making money is only part of life, but it does grease the wheels. If you start now, you can take your life back, and still get in on some of the youthful fun you're entitled to enjoy.

I know, you wouldn't know what to do if you packed up your small belongings and walked out of the cult, never to return. You don't know where to go, or who to trust. Los Angeles is a big city.

However, there is a big network of people who would be happy to help you! Magoo, myself, Arnie, Warrior, Dr. Dave Touretzky, we can all be contacted thru email.

If you're fed up with your life in the Sea Org and Scientology, you can find help. Some of you, like Magoo, have invested their whole lives inside Scientology, and you know that, if you leave, you will lose all your friends and, some of you, your families as well.

That's no different than a drug addict who decides to clean up. They have to give up their old friends and their old life, too. But, people do it all the time. It's not impossible.

And here's a funny thing. Ex-members are connecting up with some of their old, dear friends on the other side of the veil! Sometimes you just have to wait until they "wake up" too, and leave the organization.

If you stay in, Scientology will use you up. There is no retirement home for elderly Scientologists. There is no pension plan. When you quit producing, that's it! You will find yourself on a street corner, clutching a garbage bag of possessions, with nowhere to go, no Social Security (such as it is) and few options. You know this is true! An old person with few skills is doomed to taking crappy jobs for minimum wage, living in a crappy little apartment somewhere. But, think about it. They've got their own place, which they don't have to share. Nobody is going to drink the last milk in their fridge, or eat the last Ho-Ho out of the cupboard. They can have a television if they wish. They can call their friends whenever they want. They don't need permission to go out of town.

It's better when you're young enough to create a decent life for yourself. Think about it! If you want to cut class, you can, although a responsible person would realize that they're going to school for a reason. Having your own car means you can take a drive up Mt. Wilson to see the snow whenever you want. You don't need anyone's permission to do anything. That's Total Freedom, kids! Being responsible enough to pilot your own life, not relying on somebody else telling you what to do, being free enough to hit the beach on a sunny day when you feel like it.

Taking up hang gliding, riding motorcycles, exploring the boundaries of your own ability. You should, at this point in your life, be driving your own bus. Don't you want to?

Surf's up! The fish are biting! The sun is out (well, not today) and you should be outside, expanding your mind, learning new things, meeting new friends. You should be driving your own bus. Don't you want to?

-- Barb Chaplain, ARSCC xenubarb@netscape.net

"Comparing Scientology to a motorcycle gang is a gross, unpardonable insult to bikers everywhere. Even at our worst, we are never as bad as Scientology." - ex-member, Thunderclouds motorcycle club

"$cientology sees the world this way--- One man with a picket sign: terrorism; five thousand people dead in a deliberate inferno: a business opportunity. $cientology oozes *UNDER* terrorists to hide." -Chris Leithiser

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