Operation Clambake & Jeff Jacobsen present:
The Hubbard Is Bare
copyright 1992 by Jeff Jacobsen
INTRODUCTION | REVIEW OF HUBBARD'S THEORIES | THE MURKY STATE OF CLEAR | SCIENCE AND DIANETICS | HUBBARD'S SOURCES | THE IDEAL DIANETICS SOCIETY | CONCLUSION | FOR FURTHER READING
CONCLUSION
Toward the end of my research on this booklet, I was contemplating whether I really needed to read Korzybski's Science and Sanity, the gnostic Pistis Sophia, and to listen to about 40 more hours of Hubbard's taped lectures I had access to before I could call my research done. I decided that this was a case similar to the nuclear arms race; you don't really need 30,000 atomic bombs if you already have 300. In other words, there is a point of diminishing returns in gathering the lies, distortions, errors, and wacky ideas Hubbard promulgated. After you have so many, there's really no reason to keep gathering. Fortunately for both of us, I decided that I had compiled enough evidence already for my purpose, which was mainly to show Hubbard a fraud for claiming that his ideas were his invention and the only hope for mankind.
I understand, however, that there are people who say "so what if he was a fraud, the tech. works!" To this I respond, what do you mean by "works"? Do you mean that you feel better after auditing? Do you mean that you can actually leave your body? That you can alter the physical universe? That your IQ was increased tremendously, that you never have colds, that you are now more confident? Just what do you mean? I think what these people mean is it makes them feel better. To that I would agree. But I also hasten to add that just feeling better is not all there is to life. In that case a lobotomized drunk might have the ideal life, since he is not burdened by any worries and always has that alcoholic high.
I would submit that our goal should be not just feeling good but also learning about and learning how to live in the Real World. There is a Real World that we all share (except, perhaps, for lobotomized drunks). In this world, both of us will die if hit by a bus doing about 60 mph, even if one of us thinks that by positing a world where he survives such an encounter that he thereby will survive. In this world, neither of us can control street lights just by our will so they will turn green before we get to the intersection. And in this world, Scientology takes you away from the common sense and actuality of the Real World by taking you to a Fake World where you sacrifice reality for a sense of belonging and well-being.
So, yes, Scientology works, so long as you wish to live in the Scientology World. But if you want to live in the Real World, it doesn't. I was in a cult myself for 6 years in my own Fake World. From that experience I can say that I prefer the Real World with its uncertainties and problems to my Fake World where I knew all the answers and felt the bliss of my mystical experiences. The Fake World is an easier world to live in, but what's the point? What is gained by living like some kids today so deeply involved in Dungeons and Dragons fantasy that they loose sight of food, sleep, jobs, family, friends? The Emperor in his new fake clothes was quite happy amongst people who also "saw" his wonderful robes, but when confronted by a child from the Real World, his Fake World disintigrated. Is living in a Fake World really worth anything? I think not.
There is much more evidence that has been presented by others on the history of Scientology, the biographical data on L. Ron Hubbard, and the horrible experiences that many Scientologists have had. It was not my goal to even touch any of the above, and it was not even my goal to comprehensively cover my selective topic. It seemed to me that there was little written on the ideas of dianetics and Scientology and their evolution. This is what I attempted to uncover. My hope is that this will be useful for those who have left the church so they can better understand the illusion that caught them, for those who are investigating the church with thoughts of joining, and for those with a curiosity about one of the most dangerous organizations on earth today. I also hope that this may be useful by suggesting an approach to the study of other cults and movements in the religious marketplace today.
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