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Showing posts with label Total Freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Total Freedom. Show all posts

Friday, September 12, 2008

What Price the "Promise" of Total Freedom?

Dear Scientologist,

What price are you willing to pay for the promise of "Total Freedom"? Only the promise. No one actually has this "Total Freedom". No one shows any evidence of even being close. All Scientology gives you is a promise that sometime, far in the future, you will attain something L. Ron Hubbard called "Total Freedom".

And it's a rather vague promise at that. Exactly what someone is supposed to attain, and exactly when they are supposed to attain it is very undefined. It obviously isn't available now. No one has it. Let's face it, none of the OT VIIIs are showing anything special -- and if they don't have "Total Freedom", no one does.

All anyone has is a "promise" of Total Freedom. Some day.

And for that, you pay. And pay.

Not just money, although that is substantial. The most significant payments that Scientologists make are much more than just money.

You, basically, pay with your life.
  • You certainly give to the Church of Scientology more money than you can afford, and then go deeply into debt. And that certainly affects your whole life, but that is only the beginning.
  • You give the Church of Scientology all your time. You work long hours, even overtime, at your job, in the struggle to make enough money. You volunteer at the Church of Scientology to help with various church projects, OT Committee projects and Volunteer Minister activities. You sell books -- or at least try to. Any "spare moment" must be used in doing something for Scientology. Your time is not your own.
  • You give the Church of Scientology your family and friends. You've tried to bring all your family members and friends into Scientology, but that didn't go over very well. Even those who did get involved usually dropped out again. And the church won't let you stay in contact with friends and family who know and think and say negative things about Scientology. And so you've lost your family and friends.
  • You give the Church of Scientology all your attention, hopes, plans. Scientology is your life. Everything you say, everything you think, everything you read, everything you listen to, it's all Scientology. When you plan for your future, it is "your future on the Bridge". You have invested everything in the Church of Scientology.
And in return you have a promise.

But that isn't enough. David Miscavige keeps telling you that you must give more. You simply are not giving enough and you must find a way to give even more.

For this promise.

Unfortunately for you, and all Scientologists, David Miscavige has never been very good on keeping his promises.

Where are all the "Saint Hill-sized Orgs"? That was a huge promise years ago. What happened to that promise? It was huge, it was vital -- and it disappeared when Miscavige failed to do his job.

Where is SuperPower? You probably gave a ton of money for that "very important project" that he promised. Turns out Miscavige collected four times what the SuperPower building cost. What happened? You paid, but Miscavige never delivered on his promise.

Miscavige keeps promising that he'll do everything he's supposed to do if only you give him your money and your time. So you gave more money, you gave more time, but Miscavige never delivered on his side of that bargain. It's his job to deliver a "Scientology boom" and that never happened. Miscavige failed to deliver what he promised, Scientology is collapsing -- and he just keeps demanding more from you.

Now he's pushing the "Ideal Orgs" project, requiring more and more money from you. But those buildings Scientologists worked so hard to buy are standing empty and all the churches are struggling to survive. Again, Miscavige promises that if you give and give and give, then he will produce that Scientology expansion. You do the giving, but Miscavige never delivers what he promises.

You've paid and paid and paid, but you're not getting "Total Freedom"; you're not getting Scientology expansion. You are only getting more demands, and more promises, from Miscavige.

It's time to stop paying Miscavige for his endless empty promises.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Scientologists: What Freedom?

Dear Scientologist,

You are on your way, perhaps well on your way, up the Church of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Freedom", right?

So, I want to know exactly what increased freedoms you're experiencing. After all, if this is a path to "Total Freedom", you must have greater freedoms.

So, what, in your life, is more free?

Can you speak freely? Can you think what you want? Say what you think? Or are you only "free" to think and speak those things sanctioned by the Church of Scientology? Free people do not think, talk and act just like everyone else in their environment; trapped people must only agree. Which are you? Can you speak freely?

Are you free to question what you are told by L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige, or anyone else in authority in the church? Do you honestly think these people have never, ever made a mistake or caused a problem? You know you may not question what you are told by the Church of Scientology. Such questions will only get you in trouble. This is not increased freedom.

Are you free to participate, or not participate, in activities of your own creation and choosing? Or are you under duress to participate and give money to activities exactly as defined and executed by the Church of Scientology? It isn't "volunteer" if you are forced to participate. It isn't freedom.

Are you free to ask about the church? Do you know what the real overall statistics of the Church of Scientology are? Do you know what the IAS actually spends your money on? Do you know who is really running your church? When you hear rumors about your church, do you feel free to ask someone about those rumors? Do you feel free to ask those sorts of questions? If you do ask such questions, you know you will get reported to Ethics.

Are you free to talk to anyone you want to? Are you free to talk to everyone in your family? Are you free to talk to all of your friends? Or must you only talk to Scientologists and those who are careful never to disagree with the Church of Scientology? If there are restrictions on who you can talk to, can you consider yourself free?

Are you free to leave Scientology? This is the ultimate freedom that Scientology could impart, freedom to leave, if you so wish it. But, according to the church, this must never happen. According to the church, you are not free to leave. Your church doesn't want you really free.

So, the question for you, on the "Bridge to Total Freedom" is, what freedom? What freedom have you gained from being part of the Church of Scientology? In what part of your life is there more freedom?

There is no evidence that there is any increase of freedom for those on the "Bridge to Total Freedom". Instead, all that happens on this "Bridge to Total Freedom" is less and less freedom.

And where does less and less freedom end up? Slavery. You don't reach freedom by becoming a slave. There is no freedom at the end of the Church of Scientology's "Bridge to Total Freedom".
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