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Marc Headley and I don’t see eye to eye much on LRH and Scientology.  He has his views and I have mine and they are often divergent. Nonetheless, Marc has produced a narrative of his life in the Sea Org that I consider an important read for anyone wanting to understand the current state of the church.  I wrote the Foreward for Marc’s book and he authorized me to publish it on my blog to raise interest in his work.  I believe the Foreward explains why I consider Marc’s book an important piece of the “how was Scientology hijacked?” mystery. For ordering info: http://blownforgood.com/

Foreword
___________________________________________________

by Mark “Marty” Rathbun

After reading the first several chapters of Blown For Good, I made a mental note to write the author an email. I was going to suggest he have someone else write an alternate Foreword because he might not like what I have to say. While Marc Headley and I were stationed at the same international headquarters property of the Church of Scientology’s elite Sea Organization for nearly fifteen years, his views of some of Scientology founder Hubbard’s writings and my views differed greatly. I never had time to write or send the note because I could not put the manuscript down. I was  gripped by Marc’s personal story.

I came to find that while Marc’s opinions about occurrences we both experienced varied from mine, there was every reason they should. After all, Marc did not get into Scientology on his own volition. As a child his mother willed it upon him. I got in after two years of college entirely by my own choice. Marc was forced by circumstances to join the Sea Organization. I had willingly signed on in order to fulfill a purpose. Naturally the way we read material and viewed matters would disagree. Nonetheless, when it came to relating facts – without regard to view or opinion – Marc’s recollection and accuracy were remarkable.

Recognizing that Marc and I had utterly divergent reference points from which to view largely the same culture and experience, Marc’s account became that much more fascinating to me.  I began to wonder, how many people had I interacted with over twenty-seven years within the Church whose back story aligned more with Marc’s than mine? On reflection, I decided probably more members of the Sea Organization (some eighty-five hundred strong when I left in 2004) who constitute the management of Scientology internationally had a frame of reference closer to Marc’s than mine. After all, over the past thirty years Scientology’s numbers of new members had been dwindling. The Sea Organization had increasingly relied on recruiting the teenaged kids of long-term Scientologists in order to keep its ranks filled.

A great deal of that majority were people whose lives I affected for better or worse from on high in the church’s leading ecclesiastical body, Religious Technology Center.  As I read how progressively insane the dictates from my controlling organization became as they literally rolled down the hill at international headquarters in the foothills of the San Jacinto mountains in Southern California, and how negatively they affected people on the receiving end, a deep sense of remorse enveloped me. Sure, I had sought out people I had known that I had visited injustices upon individually, apologized and made things right. But Marc’s book recreated a culture I knew of and influenced, but did not live of. As I read of the pain Marc went through I remembered dozens of others similarly situated whom I knew during my Scientology experience but whose lives and feelings I was never afforded an opportunity to understand.

Marc alludes to others who will be telling their accounts from within the upper echelons of Scientology and how this will forward reform and healing. Such a scenario reflects Hubbard’s prescribed system of management. Hubbard called for a remote management body to draw upon a multitude of reports from various points within an organization being managed, then coolly evaluating the facts to get the most complete and accurate view of what it is really like on the ground. Only then could an organizational problem afar be sanely and effectively handled. The system was called the Multiple Viewpoint System of Management.

Hubbard eschewed the notion that someone in an ivory tower – no matter how intelligent – can receive one report and then arbitrarily dictate what is to be done several thousand miles away. What Hubbard condemns is precisely what Marc describes as current Supreme Leader Miscavige’s day to day operating basis. His description of Miscavige’s obsession with handling everything himself, while preventing thousands of others from handling anything is not only very accurate it is also what Hubbard described as the fastest way to destroy an organization. Add to the mix Marc’s factual description of Miscavige as “evil and enjoy[ing] watching other people suffer”, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

Ironically, Marc supplies the first comprehensive and largely accurate report on the monster Miscavige has created which may mark the beginning of the only thing that can save the subject from the avarice of Miscavige. The multiple viewpoint system applied from without. The Lord knows, and as Marc makes clear, it can never be applied from within. And it is ironic that this report comes from the very person Miscavige has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to destroy for the past few years.

Marc’s account of the trials and tribulations one goes through in leaving it all behind captures the agony and ecstasy one inevitably experiences in following through with abiding by his or her conscience. It is not an easy barrier to break through. Before Marc’s book the only artistic expression that came close to expressing that passion for me was U2’s Walk On: and I know it aches, and your heart it breaks, but you can only take so much, Walk on… Marc has now provided a narrative that allows the reader to experience that treacherous ride for his or her self.

Finally, Marc deserves props for speaking out during a period when few with quality, inside information did. I know what he faced. I helped to create it. Hopefully this book will help to civilize it.

According to website stat tracking graphed by Alexa: the web information company, we just surpassed Scientology.org in reach.  Now, considering the fact DM has spent untold millions to have links to Scientology.org ads put everywhere on the web Scientology is mentioned over the past several months – and we have done zero optimization –  you reckon these stats have any significance?

Today is open forum for discussion of the new St Pete Times Series “Chased by their Church”,  which can be found at http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/

A ten to fifteen minute interview with me was broadcast on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s the Current show this morning.  I am providing a link for those interested. The award winning  journalist who conducted the interview asked intelligent questions and allowed complete answers.  The introduction piece makes a brief mention of the OT III story, a warning for those of you who believe it can foul up your case or life by hearing it prematurely.  The interview with me is followed by one with religious scholar Gordon Melton – a Church ally, not identified as such.

Here’s the link:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/index.html

Go to the third story down from the top.

For the second time in a little over a year, church of Scientology honcho David Miscavige’s handpicked spokesman Tommy Davis has stated unequivocally that there is no policy of enforced “disconnection” in Scientology.  Yesterday Davis was quoted in an Associated Press story in response to Paul Haggis’ resignation letter that the church does not “mandate” that church members disconnect from anyone:

Haggis also said he was “shocked” that the Church of Scientology was publicly denying that it adheres to a policy of disconnection — of severing ties with a friend or family member who’s antagonistic toward Scientology. Haggis said that his wife, Deborah Rennard, was given precisely those orders and didn’t speak to her parents for more than a year.

Davis again disagreed with Haggis and said the church doesn’t mandate disconnection with anybody and that it was an entirely “self-determined decision.”

Last year Davis said essentially the same thing to John Roberts on CNN:

TD: …Scientology really mandates, and it is really part of the code of being a Scientologist, to respect the religious beliefs of others. So, certainly, somebody who is a Scientologist is going to respect their family members’ beliefs, and we consider family to be a building block of any society.  So, anything that characterizes disconnection and this kind of thing, it is just not true. There is not any such thing in the church that is dictating who people should or should not be in communication with. You know… It just does not happen.

I have some advice to those who are having their lives messed with by Church of Scientology officials mandating they remain out of communication with certain friends, associates and loved ones.  Take the quotations above, print them off, and hand them to whoever it is that has mandated you not associate with certain others.  Tell them, “sorry, you’ve been trumped by the Chairman of the Board’s spokesperson. If it is not in writing it isn’t true. It will take a written order from Miscavige himself to countermand what I have just handed you, in writing, from Miscavige’s right hand boy.”

David Miscavige and his mouthpiece Tommy Davis have made yet another huge mistake. They have chosen to tell the Associated Press that Paul Haggis is wrong about the facts he cites in his now well-publicized letter:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/ap_en_ot/us_people_paul_haggis.

I am in a position to know that Miscavige and Davis will once again be proven to be lying like Southern Flounders.  It is one thing to call me or other former staff liars.  It is quite another to call Paul Haggis such. They’ve been able to get away with the former many a time. I predict they will be made to eat their words with the latter.

the letter: https://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/paul-haggis/

The Paul Haggis news has gone viral.  A few U.S. news links that have picked it up and commented on the matter are given below. I have posted the entire letter below the links for easy reference in once place.  Paul Haggis is no joke.

New York Magazine: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/10/paul_haggis_ditches_scientolog.html

Village Voice: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/10/crash_director.php
Movieline: http://www.movieline.com/2009/10/paul-haggis-renounces-scientology.php

The Hollywood Reporter: http://showbiz411.blogs.thr.com/paul-haggis-breaks-with-scientology/

Radar Online: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/10/oscar-winner-paul-haggis-stunning-departure-scientology-accuses-leader-tommy

Gawker: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/10/oscar-winner-paul-haggis-stunning-departure-scientology-accuses-leader-tommy

The letter:

Blogger preface:

I received a copy of a letter sent to Tommy Davis written by a rather influential person. The source who provided this was a third party recipient of the letter and was able to establish to my satisfaction that the letter is authentic . I have decided to publish portions over several days so that the import of the issues it covers are fully aired and considered by readers. The source and I hope that the author of the letter will understand that by publishing the letter we mean no disrespect. Quite the contrary, it is our level of respect for the author’s life work and integrity that makes us confident many people will benefit from the author’s example, others will feel vindicated, and great strides will be made in ending the abuses the letter details.

August 19, 2009

Dear          ,

Attached find a letter to Tommy Davis. I am sending it to a handful of people, who I feel deserve an explanation. This was a personal decision; I am not seeking anyone’s agreement.  Feel free to call or write me once you’ve read it, but do not feel compelled to do so.
My very best,

Tommy,

As you know, for ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego. Their public sponsorship of Proposition 8, a hate-filled legislation that succeeded in taking away the civil rights of gay and lesbian citizens of California – rights that were granted them by the Supreme Court of our state – shames us.

I called and wrote and implored you, as the official spokesman of the church, to condemn their actions. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated.

In that first conversation, back at the end of October of last year, you told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and “heads would roll.” You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming. The best you offered was a weak and carefully worded press release, which praised the church’s human rights record and took no responsibility. Even that, you decided not to publish.

The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word.  Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.

I joined the Church of Scientology thirty-five years ago. During my twenties and early thirties I studied and received a great deal of counseling. While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally. I saw the organization – with all its warts, growing pains and problems – as an underdog. And I have always had a thing for underdogs.

But I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. In order to contain a potential “PR flap” you allowed our sponsorship of Proposition 8 to stand. Despite all the church’s words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.

The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed, doesn’t matter. I noticed. And I felt sick. I wondered how the church could, in good conscience, through the action of a few and then the inaction of its leadership, support a bill that strips a group of its civil rights.

This was my state of mind when I was online doing research and chanced upon an interview clip with you on CNN. The interview lasted maybe ten minutes – it was just you and the newscaster. And in it I saw you deny the church’s policy of disconnection. You said straight-out there was no such policy, that it did not exist.

I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. I didn’t have to search for verification – I didn’t have to look any further than my own home.

You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five years ago when they resigned from the church. This is a lovely retired couple, never said a negative word about Scientology to me or anyone else I know – hardly raving maniacs or enemies of the church. In fact it was they who introduced my wife to Scientology.

Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them. I refused to do so. I’ve never been good at following orders, especially when I find them morally reprehensible.

For a year and a half, despite her protestations, my wife did not speak to her parents and they had limited access to their grandchild. It was a terrible time.

That’s not ancient history, Tommy. It was a year ago.

And you could laugh at the question as if it was a joke? You could publicly state that it doesn’t exist?

To see you lie so easily, I am afraid I had to ask myself: what else are you lying about?

And that is when I read the recent articles in the St. Petersburg Times.  They left me dumbstruck and horrified.

These were not the claims made by “outsiders” looking to dig up dirt against us. These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church. Say what you will about them now, these were staunch defenders of the church, including Mike Rinder, the church’s official spokesman for 20 years!

Tommy, if only a fraction of these accusations are true, we are talking about serious, indefensible human and civil rights violations. It is still hard for me to believe.  But given how many former top-level executives have said these things are true, it is hard to believe it is all lies.

And when I pictured you assuring me that it is all lies, that this is nothing but an unfounded and vicious attack by a group of disgruntled employees, I am afraid that I saw the same face that looked in the camera and denied the policy of disconnection. I heard the same voice that professed outrage at our support of Proposition 8, who promised to correct it, and did nothing.

I carefully read all of your rebuttals, I watched every video where you presented the church’s position, I listened to all your arguments – ever word. I wish I could tell you that they rang true. But they didn’t.

I was left feeling outraged, and frankly, more than a little stupid.

And though it may seem small by comparison, I was truly disturbed to see you provide private details from confessionals to the press in an attempt to embarrass and discredit the executives who spoke out. A priest would go to jail before revealing secrets from the confessional, no matter what the cost to himself or his church. That’s the kind of integrity I thought we had, but obviously the standard in this church is far lower – the public relations representative can reveal secrets to the press if the management feels justified. You even felt free to publish secrets from the confessional in Freedom Magazine – you just stopped short of labeling them as such, probably because you knew Scientologists would be horrified, knowing you so easily broke a sacred vow of trust with your parishioners.

How dare you use private information in order to label someone an “adulteress?” You took Amy Scobee’s most intimate admissions about her sexual life and passed them onto the press and then smeared them all over the pages your newsletter! I do not know the woman, but no matter what she said or did, this is the woman who joined the Sea Org at 16! She ran the entire celebrity center network, and was a loyal senior executive of the church for what, 20 years? You want to rebut her accusations, do it, and do it in the strongest terms possible – but that kind of character assassination is unconscionable.

So, I am now painfully aware that you might see this an attack and just as easily use things I have confessed over the years to smear my name. Well, luckily I have never held myself up to be anyone’s role model.

The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others. I have to believe that if they knew what I now know, they too would be horrified. But I know how easy it was for me to defend our organization and dismiss our critics, without ever truly looking at what was being said; I did it for thirty-five years. And so, after writing this letter, I am fully aware that some of my friends may choose to no longer associate with me, or in some cases work with me. I will always take their calls, as I always took yours. However, I have finally come to the conclusion that I can no longer be a part of this group. Frankly, I had to look no further than your refusal to denounce the church’s anti-gay stance, and the indefensible actions, and inactions, of those who condone this behavior within the organization. I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology.

Sincerely,

Paul Haggis

Ps. I’ve attached our email correspondence.  At some point it became evident that you did not value my concerns about the church’s tacit support of an amendment that violated the civil rights of so many of our citizens. Perhaps if you had done a little more research on me, the church’s senior management wouldn’t have dismissed those concerns quite so cavalierly. While I am no great believer in resumes and awards, this is what you would have discovered:

* Founder, Artists For Peace and Justice,
– sponsoring schools, an orphanage and a children’s hospital in the slums of Haiti
* Co-Founder, BrandAid Foundation and BrandAid Project
– marketing the work of artisans from the poorest countries in the world,
* Board Member, Office of The Americas
– supporting peace and justice initiatives around the world
* Board Member, Center For The Advancement of Non-Violence
* Member and active supporter, Amnesty International
* Member, President’s Council, Defenders of Wildlife
* Member and fundraiser, Environment California and CalPirg
* Member and Award Recipient, American Civil Liberties Union
* Member and supporter, Death Penalty Focus
* Member and supporter, Equality For All
* Fundraiser, NPH (Our Little Brothers) – for the children of the slums of Haiti
* Member, Citizens Commission on Human Rights
* Patron with Honors, IAS
And formerly:
* Trustee, Religious Freedom Trust
* Board Member and fundraiser, Hollywood Education and Literacy Project
* Board Member and fundraiser, For The Arts, For Every Child
– supporting art and music in public schools
* Board Member and fundraiser, The Christic Institute
– supporting Human Rights in Central America
* Founding Board Member, Earth Communication Office
* Working Board Member, Environmental Media Association
* Fundraiser, El Rescate – Human Rights for El Salvador
* Fundraiser, PAVA – Aid and Human Rights in Guatemala

Awards for outspoken support of Civil and Human Rights:

* Valentine Davies Award – Writers Guild of America
“for bringing honor and dignity to writers everywhere”
*Bill of Rights Award – American Civil Liberties Union
*Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award – Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
*Peace & Justice Award – Office of the Americas, presented by Daniel Ellsberg
*Signis Award, Venezia, World Catholic Association
*ALMA Award – National Council of Latino Civil Rights
*Ethel Levitt Award for Humanitarian Service – Levitt & Quinn
*Prism Award – Entertainment Industries Council
*Humanitas Prize (2) – Humanitas
*Legacy Award, for Artistic and Humanitarian Achievement
*Environmental Media Award – EMA
*EMA Green Seal Award – EMA
*Image Award – NAACP
*Creative Integrity Award – Multicultural Motion Picture Association
*EDGE Awards (2) – Entertainment Industries Council
*Artistic Freedom Award – City of West Hollywood
*Catholics in Media Award – Catholics in Media Associates

And many dozens of fundraisers and salons at our home on behalf of Human and Civil Rights, the Environment, the Peace Movement, Education, Justice and Equality.