It is ironic that David Miscavige’s best friend and ‘the most dedicated Scientologist’ he knows, Tom Cruise, has provided the tipping point event in the final meltdown of Scientology Inc. What I find most disturbing about it is that Miscavige is doing all he can to bring everyone and everything down with him – from Tom Cruise to the subject of Scientology itself.
It is somewhat poetic justice that so many horror stories that Miscavige spent so many million suppressing over the past several years have suddenly been given wide currency. It is unfortunate that there has not been time, nor the inclination on the part of media, to differentiate Miscavige’s cult and its conduct from the philosophy of Scientology. But, Miscavige’s scorched earth, take no responsibility policy makes that differentiation process nearly impossible.
To understand the process, let’s take for example Miscavige’s response to the original Truth Rundown series by the Tampa Times. Some former International Headquarters staff attempted to check Miscavige from taking Scientology Inc. down in a Jonestown-like inferno by exposing dangerous, habitual conduct by Miscavige. Miscavige’s response was to accuse the accusers of perpetuating wholesale violence. The result, two nights of ABC Nightline specials and a five part CNN AC 360 special on “Scientology: A History of Violence”, and an hour long BBC documentary all about a widespread ‘culture of violence’ at the highest ranks of ‘Scientology.’ It is the lying that perpetuates and exacerbates the situation and results in no effective differentiation being possible. I remember predicting to Mike Rinder a month before Truth Rundown was published that until Miscavige takes a modicum of responsibility for the truth, the media exposes will become more frequent and more widespread. Just look at how the Truth Rundown series has expanded since its 2009 inception.
Take the Cruise/Holmes debacle. The absurd, pathetic blanket denial of the truth positions taken by Cruise and Miscavige are giving Scientology haters a seemingly unending field day.
Look at the lengths Miscavige has gone in attempting to kill the story of the death of the son of Karen De La Carriere and Heber Jentzsch. “OT VIII”, celebrity wanna be Stan Gerson has been used to send out a propaganda piece designed to divert Scientologists’ attention from the cover up of the ongoing Coroner’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding Alexander Jentzsch’s death, see Village Voice coverage.
My analysis of the ongoing meltdown of Scientology Inc is that the consistent, common denominator that is prolonging and exacerbating it, making rational discussion and differentiation near impossible, is the activity of corporate Scientology lying. I place the responsibility for this dark chapter for Scientology squarely in the office of Chairman of the Board of Scientology Inc. David Miscavige is the one who has created the current wholesale condemnation of the subject. He has convinced Tom Cruise to eschew the advice I have been giving for three years here. That advice is probably best summed up in an anonymous axiom I once quoted here:
If you tell the truth, it becomes a part of your past. If you lie, it becomes a part of your future.
The cummulative lies that Miscavige has directed Scientology Inc. and its corporate and celebrity spokespeople to vehemently pour forth for years are creating a dark future for Scientology. Their lies give legs to stories seeking to shed light on corporate Scientology abuses, and their obfuscation of specific facts opens the door to lay the blame on ‘Scientology’ generally. Their attack and lie reaction makes closure on any story about ‘Scientology’ impossible. Ultimately, by their continuing dishonesty they are denying many people potential benefits from the subject in the future.
The only way this sick trend will ever begin to reverse is by the revelation of truth. We ought not be discouraged in continuing to do what we can to purvey it. But, those efforts will continue to be suppressed as long as the likes of Miscavige, Cruise and others blatantly continue to traffic in lies.
Make no mistake, Miscavige has proven over and over that he is incapable of honesty. As I have spelled out before on this blog, Miscavige’s game is to make enemies for Scientology. He will do all he can to keep the likes of Travolta and Cruise lying in public until they are so bloodied figuratively and confused that they lose the ability to differentiate the cause of their woes and become enemies of the subject of Scientology. After all, Miscavige has accomplished that with dozens of former members – you can watch them all over the airwaves of late. He has attempted to do the same with all of us.
Cruise, Travolta, and the less stellar soldiers of Scientology Inc can avoid falling into that dark, victim bunker. All they need to do is heed the advice:
If you tell the truth, it becomes a part of your past. If you lie, it becomes a part of your future.
Whether the truth is in them remains to be seen.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 