Oprah never ceases to amaze me and never disappoints! The current trail she is blazing to promote "self-awareness" and "self-fulfillment" is one I plan to watch carefully. She continues to blaze forward with pro-Scientology guests on her program and to promote their agenda. I encourage you to do some research about Scientology on your own and then watch Oprah's shows, reruns included. Judge for yourself. What you read here is simply my humble opinion.
the author writes:
As I write, Goldie Hawn is appearing on Oprah's show, promoting her foundation to teach children how to be happy. Honestly. Do we need to teach our children how to be happy? Are we dropping a cannonball on our children's feet in order to teach them about pain? Should we also shoot them in the head to teach them about death? What I'm trying to say is that we have gone too far. We can analyze every little thing our children do and mold and form and catechize them until they are no longer capable of acting or thinking independently. We have too many foundations, too many institutions and too many programs to "make ourselves happier." We spend too much time thinking we should be happy all the time. Life is not always happy. Life is not always fair. And while I'm on the topic of Oprah - I'm delighted that she found her half-sister, but why must she over-promote it to the general public? Who cares, really? I'm sorry, but what if Katie Couric found out she had a half-brother? Who cares? I don't. Let them enjoy their new siblings in private. It's really not a public event.
Be aware that Scientology uses unscrupulous and often covert methods to bring in and retain new members. We have been warned of following false prophets. L. Ron Hubbard is one such prophet.
In a chapter borrowed from Stripping the Gurus by Geoffrey D. Falk, Chapter XIV, TeeGeeAck, (Scientology)
"Scientology is the one and only road to total freedom and total power (L. Ron Hubbard, in [Burroughs, 1995]).
In a May, 1991, cover story (Behar, 1991), Time magazine further described Scientology as allegedly being “a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner.”
The aforementioned Behar (1991) further alleged:
One of Hubbard’s policies was that all perceived enemies are “fair game” and subject to being “tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.” Those who criticize the church—journalists, doctors, lawyers and even judges—often find themselves engulfed in litigation, stalked by private eyes, framed for fictional crimes, beaten up or threatened with death.
Others have made similar claims:
The Church of Scientology is not known for its willingness to take what it construes as criticism without recourse. Indeed its record of litigation must surely be without parallel in the modern world (Wallis, 1976).
Hubbard has stated, as if invoking a Voodoo curse, that anyone rash enough to take action against Scientology is guaranteeing unto himself an incurable insanity followed by a painful death (Vosper, 1997).
After her first article on Scientology, in 1968, [Paulette] Cooper received a flood of death threats and smear letters; her phone was bugged; lawsuits were filed against her; attempts were made to break into her apartment; and she was framed for a bomb threat (Atack, 1990).
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul G. Breckenridge disclosed his own disturbing impressions of the group in the mid-1980s:
The [Scientology] organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder. The evidence portrays a man [i.e., Hubbard] who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements. The writings and documents in evidence additionally reflect his egoism, greed, avarice, lust for power, and vindictiveness and aggressiveness against persons perceived by him to be disloyal or hostile (in Miller, 1987).
Justice Latey’s opinion of the organization, as expressed in his 1984 London High Court ruling, was no higher:
Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious ... it is corrupt, sinister and dangerous (in Atack, 1990).
Likewise for Conway and Siegelman’s (1982) published view:
According to those who responded to our survey ... Scientology’s may be the most debilitating set of rituals of any [alleged] cult in America.
After a survey of forty-eight groups, Conway and Siegelman reported that former Scientologists had the highest rate of violent outbursts, hallucinations, sexual dysfunction and suicidal tendencies. They estimated that full recovery from Scientology averaged at [nearly] 12.5 years (Atack, 1992).
More recently, a wrongful-death lawsuit was brought (and settled out of court in 2004) by the estate of former member Lisa McPherson against the Church of Scientology. For details, see Ross (2004b) and www.lisamcpherson.org. For the alleged negative effects of participation in Scientology’s activities on other devoted followers, see Chapter 21 of Paulette Cooper’s (1971) The Scandal of Scientology, and Chapter 14 of Corydon and Hubbard (1998) for Cooper’s own story. Also, Chapter 22 of the same latter book for Scientology’s alleged treatment of lawyer Michael Flynn—who has since frequently represented Paramahansa Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship in their own legal concerns (Russell, 2001).
Hubbard himself died in the mid-’80s. By the end, he had become a rather unhappy man, living in a rather unhappy, Howard Hughes-like fashion—reportedly believing, at various times, that his cooks were trying to poison him; and demanding that his dirty clothes be washed thirteen times, in thirteen different buckets of clean spring water, before he would wear them.
Psychiatrist Frank Gerbode, who practiced Scientology for many years, feels that Hubbard was not schizophrenic, but rather “manic with paranoid tendencies”.... However, Gerbode suggests that the best description is the lay diagnosis “loony” (Atack, 1990).
[T]he FBI did not take Hubbard seriously, at one point making the notation “appears mental” in his file (Wakefield, 1991).
And yet, Bent Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (1998) have equally claimed:
To be a critic of the Church or its Founder is to be insane. Simple as that....
Labeling any dissident “psychotic” is commonplace in Scientology. This is mandated by Hubbard’s written policies."
Keep your eyes and your minds open. - C. Goehring
P.S. Perhaps I'd best be prepared for lawsuits and death threats.
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