Part I

Scientology claims that its goal is a world without war, crime and insanity. I was introduced to this goal when I first became involved with Scientology in late 1977. After 12 years of involvement, and growing disillusionment, I departed Scientology in early 1991.

For the past 10 years, I have communicated with many former members, and have performed hundreds of hours of research, so I have a unique perspective from within and without.

The first part of this paper will analyze any progress Scientology has made in achieving its lofty goal. The second part of this paper will move beyond its limited vision of a negative utopia (a world without) and examine a hypothetical world where Scientology has achieved its utopic vision.

A World Without War

Let's begin by examining Scientology's progress in eliminating war from the world. Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health was published in May of 1950.

Since that time, we have seen several major wars such as the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Viet Nam War (1945-1975). This is in addition to the numerous Arab-Israeli conflicts (the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War come to mind), the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, the India-Pakistan War (1971), the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971), the Falkland Islands War (1980s), the Afghan War (1979-1989), the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Cold War (1945-1991), the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), the Somalian Civil War (1991-1993), and the Bosnian War (1990's).

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, marking the end of the Cold War. Scientology took full credit for this event. I was at the Scientology quarterly sales event where Scientology management made the announcement that the Berlin Wall fell solely because the Freewinds, whose maiden voyage was June 6, 1988, was delivering OT 8 (the highest level of Scientology spiritual technology) and that "real" OTs were finally coming off the production line. The actual mechanics of this accomplishment were unclear. Did it mean that "real OTs" were capable of infusing the environment with so much "theta" that communism just melted in its face, or did it mean that OTs twitched their collective noses and the wall just came tumbling down?

Time passed and the question arose: If, in fact, the Scientology spiritual technology known as "OT Levels"

was capable of bringing about an event of this magnitude, why hasn't peace broken out all around the planet?

The same question could be asked about "clearing" the planet. Perhaps what Scientology really means is that by clearing the planet (meaning the majority of the world's population is cleared of the Scientology-invented reactive mind) then we would see that utopic world. However, achievement of that goal is fraught with complications. First, the state of Clear has to exist (and there is no evidence that it does—I was adjudicated by Scientology's American St.

Hill Organization to be Clear, yet I never achieved the results described in Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health), second the majority of the population has to be "cleared" (and the majority of the population either doesn't have the money it takes to become Clear, or they belong to religions that would not voluntarily subject themselves to another "religious philosophy." So, the lack of any discernable results coupled with the dubious efficacy of Scientology's treatment plan makes it no wonder that wars continue to plague the earth.

Two current examples are the outbreak of recent hostilities between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the ethnic war in Bosnia. In 1990, with a two-year headstart in producing "real" OTs, the world witnessed the Persian Gulf War when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Where were the OTs then? Where are they now? Why don't the "real" OTs put an end to the Mideast conflict? Where were the OTs when the Gulf War and the Bosnian War broke out? Why haven't the OTs with finality ended the Mideast crisis?

Wars have not stopped, despite Scientology's goals. Now, let's look at a different kind of warfare. Though not a military war in the traditional sense, Scientology pours its share of fuel on the fire that consumes planetary peace by engaging in all-out war with its various "enemies" via its abuse of the judicial system and its "noisy" investigations. Why can't Scientology just melt the "iron curtain" between itself and its critics?

The obvious answer to these questions is that the Scientology spiritual technology does not imbue mortal man with god-like powers as advertised. For example, its fabrication regarding communism. The real story of the fall of the Iron Curtain is that it was caused by multiple factors including, but not limited to, the major influence of Pope John Paul II; reformed Christian ministers; and the aging of the communist rulers.

Pope John Paul II, a Polish national who carried great weight with the Polish labor leader, Lech Walesa (who founded the Solidarity party and later became the president of Poland), was also the first Pope who visited communist countries while in office. If any one factor could be attributed to the downfall of the Iron Curtain, it was Pope John Paul II's tireless and selfless efforts to promote peace within communist countries. This was during a time when Scientology could not even gain entrance to these countries. It is apparent that Scientology has taken credit where credit was not due.

Another fire started by Scientology is its dispute with Germany. Scientology's program to gain entrance into Germany by accusing the German government of being Nazis does not forward a peace agenda. Germany sees Scientology as a money-making enterprise rather than a religion. Scientology tried to bully the German government into submission by using a tasteless ploy of aligning its "plight" with the Jewish Holocaust. First, Scientology did not exist when the Holocaust occurred. Second, no Scientologist has suffered any of the tragedies that the Holocaust victims suffered. Therefore, Scientology is not similarly situated.

An interesting side note: Hitler was not German, he was Austrian. He came into Germany on a minor political party platform. The primary focus of his campaign was ethnic cleansing, not religion (though later it became a peripheral fact). The Holocaust included not just Jews, but also communists, trade unionists, Catholics, Protestants (Niemoeller and Bonhoffer were well-known Lutheran ministers who went to concentration camps), homosexuals, prostitutes, gypsies, and all non-Aryan people.

Scientology trying to put on the cloak of potential Holocaust victims is like trying to fit into a real cloak 100 times bigger than itself. Not only did it come up very short, it made a mockery of the true Holocaust victims by exhuming their memories for the self-serving purpose of trying to intimidate Germany into allowing it to conduct its business enterprise within its borders. To thinking men and women, Scientology's cry of Persecution! is obviously a disproportionate reaction to the actual situation. Scientology tactics are very similar to the liberal politics playing out after the recent presidential election: grabbing at straws, looking for loopholes, intimidating, harassing, until the loser gets his/her/its way. And if that fails, off to court it goes to intimidate and harass the judiciary into declaring it the winner.

Many more people around this planet would probably recognize Scientology as a religion and not be so resistive to its presence if it could be easily recognized as a religion. In other words, to most Scientology's bellicose behavior contrasted with the behavior of a true man of peace raises red flags. For example, Pope John Paul II was the target of an assassination attempt in 1981. An assassin, hidden in the crowd in St. Peter's Square, fired two shots into the Pope's abdomen in an attempt to kill him. There was speculation the assassin was communist-backed. Notwithstanding his motives, the would-be assassin was arrested and John Paul II showed great mercy for his attempted assassin by granting him a private visit in prison in order to demonstrate his forgiveness. This man lives his religion. Unfortunately, so does Scientology, and people can discern the vast differences.

Moving on, we will now look at a another war launched by Scientology against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. It is interesting that over 2,000 individual Scientologists simultaneously had the same thought to file, not one class-action lawsuit, but 2,000 individual lawsuits against the IRS. Unless Scientologists are telepathic, this had to have been orchestrated. The resources it takes to defend 2,000 individual lawsuits is far greater than to defend one class-action suit. Evidently, the individual lawsuits were filed in order to harass and overburden the IRS.

It is also reported that Scientology used private investigators to put the pressure on until the IRS, a major government agency, capitulated. Thus, Scientology gained benefits from the IRS not available to any other citizen or religion in the United States.

Tax analysts across the United State were outraged at the preferential treatment. Non-Scientology citizens tried to take advantage of the same benefit and were denied. See, for instance, Sklar v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, U.S. Tax Court, No. 1556-97. Is there a dark secret Scientology is holding over the head of the IRS that keeps it submissive to Scientology?

One reason this issue arises is that Scientology continues to arrogantly refuse to follow its agreement with the IRS. Part of its tax exempt application indicated that it would refund monies paid if requested. This author, and many others, requested such refunds and were ignored, yet Scientology still enjoys tax exempt status. "The [secret closing] agreement made the group tax-exempt and allowed its members to deduct fees not just for auditing, but also for such religious courses as "Success Through Communication" and "The Anatomy of the Human Mind."

"The IRS realizes that giving in to Scientology was a mistake, and they don't want to extend that mistake,"

says former IRS commissioner Donald C. Alexander. "The result is most taxpayers are unfairly treated." Mysterious Ways, by Brigid McMenamin (Forbes).

What kind of pressure did Scientology bring to bear on the Internal Revenue Service to get such special dispensation? In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the IRS's 1978 refusal to allow deductions for auditing and Scientology courses. In that decision, the Supreme Court even commented that if those kinds of deductions were allowed, it could open the door for taxpayers to claim deductions for parochial schools.

However, since 1993, the IRS has allowed members of the Church of Scientology to deduct the "fixed donations" they pay for religious education and auditing, Scientology's mental and spiritual counseling. If this isn't quid pro quo, then what is?

Further, because of this preferential treatment, many citizens are concerned that their private information is now in the hands of Scientologists, much like what happened with Scientology's similar war against Cult Awareness Network. This ended in CAN's bankruptcy after many Scientologist-initiated lawsuits were filed. Then a Scientologist bought CAN's assets, including mailing lists, and Scientology, an organization labeled "most dangerous cult," now deceptively operates Cult Awareness Network.

How does Scientology think it will ever achieve a world without war when it carries on business as a war-monger?

A World Without Crime

Has anyone noticed that crime is still with us? Yes, it is very much still with us. Scientology contributes to this situation by its manipulation of the justice system, its intimidation to abridge freedom of speech, its pressure on its adherents to obtain more money to buy Scientology services and desperation of poverty-stricken Scientology families.

Courts have become a weapon of Scientology not just to conquer a critic, but to utterly destroy him and, by putting his head on a pike, vanquish dissent from anyone. For instance, why does Scientology spend millions of dollars in their dispute with Keith Henson, when it was only awarded $75,000 in the copyright infringement case against Mr. Henson? Again, citizens are concerned. It is the taxpayers who are subsidizing these court battles and Scientology is getting a disproportionate benefit. Institutions, such as the judiciary, are not here to solely serve the interests of a single group. Its legal aggression is so well-known that it is amazing that it has not been declared a vexatious litigant.

Also criminal is Scientology's intimidation to squelch freedom of speech. What newspaper or magazine is willing to publish anything against Scientology, given its well-known reputation of bringing vicious lawsuits against an organization giving it "bad press"? The organization continuously attacks critics on the Internet and tries to legislate its Internet critics out of existence. This is censorship by intimidation. Censorship by any means is contrary to the free flow of ideas.

Why censorship? Winston Churchill eloquently explained it: "You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts is unspoken - unspeakable! - fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse - a little tiny mouse! - of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic." It is fear of being found out. Fear of losing their power when truth becomes known.

On another front, Scientology is the behind-the-scenes instigator manipulating its members into unwise financial decisions, reaping the enormous benefits of monies procured by its members' credit without the responsibility of repayment. This is analogous to a corporation coercing its staff to rob banks. True, it is not violent, but the outcome is the same. The money is stolen and Scientology is the beneficiary.

Thus, Scientologists are pushed into enormous debts in their pursuit of spiritual power and freedom, and many have been forced into bankruptcy when they were unable to repay the onerous debts. Though the bankruptcy laws allow relief from debt for hardship reasons, the first question is why should it be considered a hardship?

Often, members borrow money with no foreseeable way to pay it back, except the Scientology attitude of "make it go right." A change in the bankruptcy laws that will disallow discharge of any loans for services, such as Scientology offers, is in order. This would exclude inability to repay based on demonstrable hardship, such as loss of job or catastrophic medical bills, those could happen to anyone.

People should understand that if they let themselves get into financial hot water, they will be held accountable. This may have a chilling effect on the power Scientology holds over its members. Societally, there should be sanctions against organizations that coerce their members into debt.

Additionally, some Scientology non-Sea Org staff members are forced into crime because the staff pay is usually way below minimum wage. Often pay is $20-$30 per week, at times there is no pay at all. Yet staff are expected to remain on post. This pushes parents into desperation to feed and clothe their children.

Any means available become an option, including theft.

There have been reports of children of Sea Org parents prostituting themselves to obtain money.

A final source of Scientology-created crimes is OSA. Here crimes are perpetrated by its legal machine against its critics. There are numerous reports of outrageous conduct on the part of OSA operatives, private investigators hired by Scientology, and Scientology's lawyers. An FBI agent has remarked that Scientology has a world-class intelligence division. Who can trust a church with an intelligence division? Would you go to a confessional with the FBI, the CIA, Interpol, the KGB, or SAVAK? Further, this author was deposed by Scientology's lawyers. What I observed validated the reports. Material alterations were made to the transcript of my deposition.

How can Scientology accomplish its goal of a world without crime when it encourages financial crime by its hard sell tactics, by not paying its staff enough to live on, by illegally abusing the legal process, by criminal activity in trying to silence freedom of speech, and by the existence of its OSA operations?

A World Without Insanity

Scientology has been on a decades-long crusade against psychology and psychiatry. However, its attempts have not proven fruitful, witnessed by the continued existence of these branches of medicine. Nor has Scientology shown the world that it possesses a more workable system of mental therapy. However, anecdotal reports are highly suggestive that Scientology mental therapy may be harmful.

What plan does Scientology have to pick up the slack should they successfully put psychology and psychiatry out of business? The answer is none.

Today, if that occurred, as Scientology claims it is successfully doing, there would be no safety net. Scientology does not help the unable, nor does it have the resources to handle the world's mentally ill. Thus, the world would be in worse shape. Eradicating psychology and psychiatry would result in a sharp increase in war, crime and insanity due to the safeguards that currently exist.

If Scientology actually has a workable technology, the reasonable approach would be to demonstrate its workability to the mental health profession and integrate it into the existing network.

There are many reports that indicate that Scientology mental and/or spiritual technology may not work. A significant one is the highly publicized death of Lisa McPherson, one of Scientology's members.

Not long after she attested to Scientology's state of Clear (where according to Scientology materials she should have been a very happy, well, capable human being), Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor car accident. She got out of the car and took off her clothes in public.

When paramedics arrived, she begged for help and was taken to a hospital. However, Scientology personnel came and took her back to their facility in Clearwater, Florida, insisting they would care for her. She died 17 days later.

Also, noteworthy, is that the facility in Clearwater is the Flag Land Base or "Flag." It is called the "Mecca of Technical Perfection." If this is the penultimate organization delivering Scientology services, and its members develop mental disturbances and some of the die (more than just McPherson), then what is it like at the lower level organizations?

Scientology would not take responsibility for her death and has waged yet another legal war to prevent the truth from being discovered.

After discounting all the mud slinging, what is apparent is that Ms. McPherson was suffering from a mental disorder. Did the Scientology spiritual technology cause this disorder or did it just exacerbate an underlying existing disorder?

It is not known, but a growing number of anecdotal reports exist that are highly suggestive that Scientology's unverified mental and spiritual technology may, in fact, be exacerbating, if not creating, mental problems in at least some of its members.

One theory states suggests that the e-meter used in Scientology auditing may be giving low-level electrical shocks to those undergoing its counseling treatments. The FDA, though it has forced Scientology to label its e-meters as spiritual devices that cannot cure illness, should put the meter through studies to determine if long-term use is detrimental to human health.

Next, Hubbard claims that lack of memory is psychotic.

The example given was a telephone—it has not memory and is therefore psychotic. Have you ever thought of your telephone being psychotic? It's a rather different concept.

More appropriately, of course, this definition applies to human beings, not inanimate objects. Observation of Alzheimer's patients and those with certain traumatic brain injuries indicates that lack of memory is definitely a serious mental condition.

But what about organizational memory? Scientology continues to revise its own history, and as it does so, it is creating organizational psychosis.

For example, Hubbard's biography is a work of fiction.

Another example is a picture of a recent Scientology event that was made public where the audience was digitally manipulated by cutting and pasting people to fill empty seats to give the illusion that Scientology events are "sell outs." Unfortunately, one attendee was a headless man! Ooops! This and other revisions give further evidence that Scientology revises any negative history because it can never be wrong, or be perceived as less than perfect.

All utopian societies have this character flaw. History was rewritten by the Nazis, the Communists, the fictitious negative utopian society depicted in George Orwell's "1984," and now Scientology.

There is another, widespread definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result!

Every Scientologist who goes to the registrar over and over again, expecting to get his "ruin" finally handled on the next level, fits this definition.

Another aspect of insanity is the inability to get along with others. This is an important indicator of sanity. Traditional mental therapies know this. And Hubbard, a student of Plagiarism, "borrowed" many ideas from traditional mental therapies. Hubbard says, in Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health, p.527 (1995), that "If an individual is incapable of adjusting himself to his environment so as to get along with or obey or command his fellows, or, more importantly, if he is incapable of adjusting his environment, then he can be considered to be "insane."

If this statement is true for an organization, as well as an individual, then Scientology is an "insane"

organization, because it has a very difficult time getting along with folks with differing viewpoints. In fact, as indicated above, it has a policy-driven compulsion to harass and "utterly destroy" its critics.

OSA tries very hard to "adjust" the environment for Scientologists, to the exclusion of the non-Scientology world. In the physical body when cells start "adjusting" themselves to conform the environment to their own program, that is called cancer. In this organization, it is called standard operating procedure.

Another form of insanity evident within Scientology is called sophistry. It has its roots in ancient Greece.

The Sophists were professional teachers for hire, usually retained by wealthy households. One of the original Sophists was Protagoras. He stated, "Man is the measure of all things." This concept led to the main doctrine of the Sophists, which is that whatever appears to be the case for you is true even though to me it is false.

Sound familiar? Scientology's version of this concept is "what is true for you is what you observe." This statement says that any real or objective truth, morality, or religion is impossible. All reverence for truth, custom, and law is destroyed. We cannot prove that anything is true or good. The best rule in life is to get as much pleasure and satisfaction as one can. It is very self-centered, and you will find most Scientologists exhibit that characteristic. They can't rise above the level of their teaching. The area of morals is most impacted. As a result, you find Scientology parents who leave their children with nannies for 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, in their pursuit up the Scientology "Bridge." Sophist teaching is that there is no truth; therefore, there is no good and evil or right and wrong. Morals are arbitrary. Children are just billion year old spiritual beings in little bodies and, therefore, do not need to be treated as anything but adult.

Sophistry represents a peculiar type of mindset which recurs in times of transition, when old systems of thought, government, and religion have lost their authority. This appears to be the case in late 20th Century America, where Scientology is most prevalent.

After reviewing the evidence, it is apparent that Scientology has not created any significant advances in creating a world without insanity, but instead, demonstrates that it suffers remarkably from that which it claims to have the cure for. The doctor needs to become the patient. Physician, Heal Thyself! If Scientology cannot even cure itself of its own organizational insanity, it obviously cannot create an entire world devoid of insanity. Creations have the attributes of their creators.

On a special note, the subject of Scientology's handling of its critics spans all three areas of war, crime and insanity. It is all-out war against its critics, any crime against its critics is morally justified in its Fair Game Policies, and the "utterly destroy" people who disagree mentality is insanity in action, not to mention a suppressive trait.

Interestingly, Scientology demonstrates most, if not all, the suppressive traits against its critics and feels morally justified in doing so, but if a person demonstrates suppressive traits against Scientology, then he or she is declared suppressive and expelled. No reasonably sane person would ever think this is acceptable behavior.

Further, many criminal acts against critics can be considered "hate crimes," which has been proposed to come under federal jurisdiction.

In summary, it is apparent that in the 50 years since Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health was published, the world has not witnessed any noticeable improvement in the areas of war, crime and insanity. If it hasn't happened in 50 years, the odds are against it ever happening. If a real technology of mind or spirit existed, it would have taken the world by storm. "An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come." -- Victor Hugo.

So with the goal of a world without war, crime and insanity being apparently unattainable, why does Scientology continue to assert it as a goal? Could it be that it is a hook that traps idealistic people. It is the justification for long hours, terrible working conditions, little or no pay, never seeing one's family, and other abuses. Without the idealism, people would not put up with the poor conditions. With the idealism, any price is worth the goal.

As Russell Baker said: "Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things."

A WORLD WITHOUT...

Part II

Scientology sees a world that is lacking in the three negative elements of war, crime and insanity. But what positive elements does it envision? Vaguely, that everyone would be at least Clear and ... I'm not really sure. That everyone would be sane. And? Well .. hmmm. I was in it for 12 years. After all the psychs are gone, and everyone is Clear, then what? Oh, yes ... that's right. We're off to Target 2 ...

to clear the Galaxy. Then what? Oh, well. I'm beating a dead horse on this issue. There isn't any clear explanation of what's on the other side except the lack of war, crime and insanity, and Clears (and presumably OTs too) will be the only ones with any rights.

The following is my take on what Scientology's utopia will not contain, based on my understanding and experience with the real Scientology. It will truly be a world without ...

Visionaries

L. Ron Hubbard is the final authority. If he didn't comment upon it, it isn't necessary. No one has to think any more because he has done all the thinking mankind will ever need. (However, if that is true, then why is it that Hubbard did not foresee the Internet and stop it before it became a problem for Scientology?)

Consequently, it stands to reason that there will rarely, if ever, be any Scientologist who will win a Nobel Prize in any category. Many Scientologists are attracted to work that will produce maximum income to further their progress up the Bridge, rather than make worthwhile contributions to society, at lower pay. Even their celebrity members are not particularly stellar. True, some enjoy popular draw at the box office, but none have ever participated in projects that won critical acclaim. And while Scientology emphasizes attracting celebrities, a society is not made up solely of artists.

Hubbard is the gold standard for life. There is no motivation to achieve anything more than what he achieved. For instance, his level of writing, his views on art, his philosophy on life. This explains the magnificent flop of Battlefield Earth, his sci-fi novel turned into a movie. The world has moved on, but Scientology is frozen in the 1950's, i.e., Dianetics, with no new innovations or insights, is still promoted as the only way to everlasting mental health; the OT3 incident includes intergalactic spaceships that look like DC-10's; a writing style that still follows the Golden Age of Sci-Fi's penny-a-word standard, and so on.

Well-Rounded Education

Hubbard was not a believer in much more than Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic, and Scientology. Children in Scientology schools today are being short-changed in life by only getting minimal basic education and only Hubbard's view on life.

Institutions of Higher Learning

Universities will be done away with, unless all they teach is Scientology. People will no longer be trained in logic, reason, independent thought, professions, etc.

Scientific Investigation

Don't expect to see a Scientologist find the cure for AIDS or cancer. Research scientists have to devote their lives to research, and it would be impossible for a Scientologist to have it in his schedule to allow that much time away from his studies of Scientology. The lack of foundational education would preclude reaching the intellectual level needed to conduct this type of research. It would also preclude scholarly inquiry into any intellectual discipline (all the liberal arts). As a result, research centers and think tanks would cease to exist.

Scientology has resisted review of its Dianetic therapy. It states that it is a science, but has not allowed any in-depth peer review culminating in certification or validation. There were two independent investigations in the 1950's, neither of which validated Dianetics. So, scientific standards will cease to exist and "what is true is what we say is true" will become the scientific standard.

Scientologists won't have the time or the desire to continue missions into space, so space programs will cease to exist. Again, time and education will get in the way. Also, the funding to keep these institutions and agencies in business would probably become non-existent.

Government

Under a Scientology-dominated civil government, the good of the commonwealth will not be the determining factor in decision making. The motivation will be what will benefit Scientology. Normally, with a short-term view. Civil government may cease to function separately and become an division of the Church of Scientology.

Constitutional Rights

The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights will be set aside. Only Scientologists who have paid their money and attained the State of Clear will have civil rights. And even those rights are unclear and subject to the whim of the church leadership at the time.

A Military

It is unknown how many Scientology children coming of age will actually voluntarily serve in the military. If the draft were to be reimplemented before the world is transformed Scientologically, it is probable that the young adults would seek exemption due to the ease of becoming a Scientology minister (one course).

After the world is transformed, there wouldn't be a military. But, if history serves as a warning, there will be an intelligence network and plenty of private investigators to run a police state. No, it won't be the KGB or SAVAK, but it will be the same mentality. This time the initials are OSA. But it is not likely the police state will be enough to push back an invasion of foreign enemies. Odds are against Muslims becoming card-carrying Scientologists, and it is not likely Scientology can cure Saddam Hussein's insanity.

A Duty Of Care

Scientology says that "you are responsible for your condition." However, that statement does not seem to apply to the organization or its employees or agents when something goes wrong. In a Scientology world, the Scientology organization would continue to be exempt from responsibility for its actions.

So, if a member dies because of a botched Introspection Rundown, as Lisa McPherson did, the organization is not responsible. Yet, it is the organization's policies and procedures which are applied, through its agents and employees, to the unwitting victim. Therefore, the Scientology corporation, an artificial person, is ultimately responsible. Historically, Scientology points the finger at its agents or employees and cries Guilty!

even when those same agents or employees were only carrying out Scientology's policies and procedures.

Diversity

All people will be Scientologists. They will study the same materials, have the same goals, the same mind-set. Independent thought will no longer exist. The Age of Enlightenment will be over and the world will sink back into another Dark Ages.

A Truthful History

The past will continue to be rewritten to put Scientology in the best light. Therefore, there will be no truthful history.

Impartial Justice

Civil courts will be transformed into Scientology courts where once you are declared a Suppressive Person, no one in the world will talk with you, conduct business with you or provide you with goods or services. You will be unable to exist within a Scientology society, so your only recourse will be to move to the Canadian backwoods, hunt moose and elk, and live in a yurt.

Secure Children

Children will grow up without benefit of parents. Contact with grandparents will be outlawed, pursuant to Child Dianetics. Children will suffer from lack of security, love, compassion. They won't be functional adults, just abused soldiers on a mission to create a galaxy without war, crime and insanity.

Families

Children will grow up in conditions similar to communistic communes, the natural affection for parents will be lost, and nuclear families will no longer exist. Loyalty and other essential character qualities will not fostered, and nurturing childhood experiences will not occur. Loyalty will only be to Scientology.

God

Scientology has never denied the existence of God. It refers to God as a "supreme being" and excludes "it" from Scientology. However, on the upper OT levels, Hubbard calls Christ a pedophile, and claims the title of "anti-christ" for himself. Perhaps a world without war, crime and insanity is just another name for a satanic "Garden of Eden."

Love

Love is not included on Hubbard's emotional tone scale. Though many Scientologists sign their communications with "Love," emulating Hubbard's style, it is love without commitment, an empty social custom within Scientology.

Help for the Mentally Distressed

Mentally distressed people will have nowhere to turn.

Their human rights will terminate on Scientology's ascension to power. Hubbard said in "Science of Survival" that people below 2.0 on his Emotional Tone Scale should be put away quietly, with no sorrow.

Help for the Physically Distressed

There would be no hospitals or medical personnel given Hubbard's disparagement of "medicos" and Scientology's viewpoint that all illness in greater or lesser extent stems for PTSness.

Medical Standards

Scientology maintains that illness comes in greater or lesser extent from being under the influence of an oppressive person. The condition is called PTSness, which stands for Potential Trouble Source. So all illness is now lumped into one indistinguishable category: PTSness. Scientologists do not subscribe to the germ theory of illness, but as yet have not revealed how it is that vaccinations have eradicated many horrible diseases such as polio, small pox, typhoid and whooping cough. Expect to see pandemics of curable diseases come back.

Further, Scientology promotes Dianetics as a panacea. For example, in birthing, it advocates home births in conjunction with Dianetic techniques. It elevates its system of so-called preventative mental therapy above the physical well-being of its adherents. My son is a casualty of this approach. Because of the Dianetic influence, he was intentionally allowed to be born at home, by a chiropractic midwife and an OB/GYN physician. These medical personnel knew well in advance of birth my son's breech position. In contravention of medical laws and known medical practice which prohibit breech babies being born at home.

As a result, he suffered severe brain trauma. The umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck three times causing severe oxygen deprivation. He spent the first weeks of his life at Children's Hospital on intravenous feedings and Phenobarbital. Therefore, instead of having a mentally healthy baby, I was given the nightmare of a physically damaged baby with significant mental and behavioral problems. When the health and safety of the patient takes a back seat to philosophical ideas there is always disaster.

A second example is cancer, a common illness among upper level Scientologists. They are advised to buy "auditing" as a cure. To my knowledge, this has not resulted in any cures, but these people have been prevented from seeking competent medical advice. These people may have enjoyed longer lives, and even gone into remission, with competent medical help. This author was told by a Scientology registrar that my broken wrist would heal in a month (instead of 3) if I bought 25 hours of auditing. I bought the auditing. My wrist healed in 3 months, just like the doctor said.

From my experience it appears that Scientology would let you die rather than call 911 and possibly become embroiled in controversy. While on staff, this author had a torsioned ovarian cyst and nearly died because no staff member was willing to leave their post to take me to the hospital. This was due to the fear of getting into trouble for leaving post without permission. However, to get permission was not an easy matter.

With Scientology at the helm, expect to see an escalation of preventable diseases and deaths. Because universities will no longer exist, doctors will no longer be trained. Your health will be in the hands of a hastily posted ethics officer who will tell you that your cigarette smoke allergy can be cured by taking up smoking; the electrical sensations in your neck and back aren't Lhermitte's Sign (an indication of a neurological problem), rather, it is the result of a Marcabian implant; the panic attacks you suffer aren't an allergy to Nutrasweet, rather it is the nervous hysteria that results from going past misunderstood words; cancer can be cured with auditing; and other health problems are the result of your being under the influence of a suppressive person.

Summary

Scientology's world without war, crime and insanity is just another humanistic bid for utopia. Failed utopias are rampant in history. In the 1800's, Horace Mann and John Dewey envisioned crime levels so low or non-existent that one wouldn't need to lock his house at night. How did they propose to achieve this utopic vision? By establishing public schools. And what public schools given us: crime, drugs, promiscuousness, and illiteracy. At the same time, Karl Marx designed a secular state that was supposed to be adequate for all. The resulting tragedies of Russia and eastern Europe are well known. The Nazis' utopia was a world ruled by the Aryan race, which ended in the deaths of millions of people, on the battlefields and in the concentration camps.

Utopias are concepts of ideal societies in which social, political, and economic evils afflicting mankind have been eradicated and in which the state functions for the good and happiness of all concerned.

The word utopia (coined from the Greek autopia—"no place" and eutopia—"good place") stands for the ultimate in human folly or human hope -- vain dreams of perfection in a Never-Never Land or rational efforts to remake man's environment and his institutions and even his own erring nature, so as to enrich the possibilities of the common life. However, despite all human attempts at creating a utopia, it continues to allude its would-be creators.

Mankind stands at the door of the 21st Century. What would it be like if Scientology achieved its goal? It could possibly be similar to what Romans experienced when Rome was invaded by Germanic barbarians in the 5th Century, which led to the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Dark Ages. The barbarians had no technology and no advanced civilization. All the barbarians could do was make war and hunt. All Scientology is trained to do is make war and grub for money.

Another analogy to the situation of the consequences of a Scientology utopia can be seen in Iran, with the exile of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, and the ascension of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iran, under the Shah, had become progressive and enlightened. The shah's "White Revolution" allowed women to vote and to hold jobs, built big cities, and created a more progressive society.

When the Ayatollah was in France, before his ascension to power, he was interviewed and told the reporter that "in the new 'democratic' society he was going to build, women will be free to go to the universities, to work in society, to go to offices or anywhere, to be elected to parliament, to choose their destiny. Only moral corruption and decadency between men and women would be restricted in his new Iran." [Uexpress Online, Opinion, Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran Changed the World, Georgie Anne Geyer.]

He must have had a change of heart because when the Ayatollah Khomeini's regime came into power, fundamentalist Shi'ite Islam became the state religion, and the country regressed. Rights of women, especially, vanished overnight; Western technology was despised; many of the beautiful palaces and other architectural landmarks were torn down or vandalized;

Western influence was viewed as detracting Iranians from submitting to God and, thus, was evil and was eradicated wherever possible; students entering Iranian universities had to pass a test on the Muslim faith; and anyone suspected of opposing the revolution was severely punished.

A Scientology official, commenting on Scientology's militancy, said "we're not a turn-the-other-cheek religion." The only other religion I know of that has a similar level of militancy (perhaps, like Scientology, only in its ruling elite) is Islam. Islamic terrorists are feared world-wide by Islam's perceived enemies. Islam also deals with critics harshly. When Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses, a book about the Koran, the Prophet Muhammad, and Islam, Ayatollah Khomeini put out a "fatwa" (an edict) on Mr. Rushdie's life of $5 million, which forced him into hiding.

Note, however: this author has personally known people of the Islamic faith and have found them to be peaceful people. Just like individual Scientologists I have known, they, too, tend to be peaceful, as well as bright and idealistic. (So I suspect the problem is "at the top," or perhaps the factions of anomalies all religions tend to attract at some point in their history.)

Disregarding the individual members of either religion, the parallels between these two religions are striking: members are disenfranchised from their rights; things that are not evil in and of themselves become taboo (in Iran, anything from Western culture is evil and therefore taboo: t-shirts, jeans, music, architecture, etc.); in Scientology those things declared evil are the news media, suppressive people, "medicos" (medical doctors in general), and psychologists and psychiatrists, specifically; and, finally, opposition is dealt with severely.

Further, seriousness about its mission are traits shared by both religions. Hubbard says in Keeping Scientology Working, No. 1 something to the effect of:

"Turn that wandering look of doubt [in Miss Pattycake's] eyes into a dedicated stare. If she's here, she's on board with the rest of us...win or die in the attempt."

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini said, at a Speech in Qum, as reported in Time Magazine, January 7, 1980, "There is no room for play in Islam...It is deadly serious about everything."

Another key factor in creating and holding the utopian vision together are lies. Scientology tells newcomers that it is compatible with Christianity, when in fact the founder of Scientology states as fact, on one of the high level courses, that Jesus was a pedophile and he is the anti-christ. The Ayatollah gave the impression, before he came to power, that women would have rights and then reneged. It isn't the first time those creating their vision of a utopian society have lied. And history is rewritten to keep the rank and file believing the utopia is coming. Anything contrary to the agenda is deleted.

One of the most successful baits in keeping people working on staff was "The Universe Corp is coming" to deliver OT levels to the staff. In the 12 years I was in, it never came. I have never heard that it did.

Scientology even encouraged rumors that the secret of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) would be revealed on the upper OT levels. Of course, the FBI debunked the supernatural aspects of it. SHC is a phenomenon known as "the wick effect," in which a small simmering fire sparked by something such as a cigarette grows to an intense heat with the body's own fat acting as a fuel source. The fat, in effect, seeps into the victim's clothes and causes the victim to burn like the wick of a Coleman lantern. This process causes great heat in the immediate vicinity, but the heat only goes straight up, leaving flammable items next to the fire as unharmed as a camper sleeping next to a crackling campfire. "One the body starts to burn,"

the FBI wrote in its report, "there is enough fat and other inflammable substances to permit varying amounts of destruction to take place. Sometimes this destruction by burning will proceed to a degree which results in almost complete combustion of the body." (APBnews.com, August 1, 2000, by Todd Venezia.)

A final comment about utopias is that fear and oppression are standard fare and result in the inhibition of vision, research, and progress. That is one of the reasons why utopias fail. A Hubbardian utopia will not succeed any better than a Marxist utopia, or a Nazi utopia, or a Mann/Dewey utopia, or an Islamic utopia, but it will contain just as much fear and oppression.

Fear and oppression is constant because every utopia has an enemy it must dispose of: for the Nazis it was the non-Aryans, for the Communists, it was the Capitalists, for the Muslims it is "The Great Satan"

(the United States), for the Scientologists, it is "the Critics, and the 'Psychs'."

So with all these enemies, how can there ever be world peace?

Is There A Solution?

Perhaps. But no solution will work if it is not implemented. So, before anything else, there has to be a willingness to implement a solution.

One way to achieve the solution is for Scientology to abandon the destructive programs they are running and return to decency. One way to achieve this is through application of their booklet entitled "The Way To Happiness."

Scientology has nicknamed it "a common sense moral code." It is a guide-to-good-living type of book.

Most people learn these precepts in kindergarten, but because of the continual violations of so many of its own precepts, Scientology management needs to re-focus on it

The reason for Scientology's battle fatigued personnel to revisit this particular tech is that civilian focus is lost when in combat for so long. It is time to lay down the sword and pick up the plough. Scientology can either "get ethics in" on itself, or eventually force a federal grand jury to do it for them.

Scientology's behavior in contradiction of the precepts of this book sends a loud message to the world that Scientology, as an organization, does not practice what it preaches.

An admission of guilt and an apology would go a long way in restoring itself to society. So would an amends project.

To not live by its own moral code just provides evidence to a watching world that all the talk of religion is just a smoke-screen. If Scientology wants to be respected and stop feeling so persecuted, then it should start living by its own moral precepts.

Start!

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"Clamato" -- a variant of the Latin word "clamat" meaning one who shouts or proclaims.

Quod dico vobis in tenebris dicite in lumine et quod in aure auditis praedicate super tecta.

"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs." (Matthew 10:26-27).