Ezra Klein: All Crazies Are Not Created Equal

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July 19, 2005

All Crazies Are Not Created Equal

Michael Crowley, in his fun Slate bio of L. Ron Hubbard, writes:

Comparable crackpots-in-chief like Lyndon LaRouche and Sun Myung Moon have had almost no detectable national influence.

Originally, I was going to say, "tell that to John Gorenfeld." But when I surfed to his site for the link, turned out he'd already written a better response to exactly the same quote. So I'll just copy-and-paste:

The late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard has a high profile, that's for sure. But only in his most feverish, drug-fueled dreams could the inspiration for Mind Head see himself hailed at a U.S. Senate building, toasted in South America by President Bush, or transformed into a major media mogul who's poured a fortune into the Religious Right and the old anti-Communist lobby.

The guy owns UPI and The Washington Times. All Hubbard's done is turn Tom Cruise ridiculous. Cults are bad, but let's not pretend they're worse than a messianic nutbag deeply insinuated into the ruling party's media and financial structure.

July 19, 2005 | Permalink

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Comments

Mortality cures some problems. Hubbard is gone. Moon and LaRoche won't last long.

Hubbard's legacy however lives on, far beyond what the usual crackpot achieves. He built an organization that self-perpetuates. Like the Mormons.

Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Jul 19, 2005 2:16:36 PM

There is a reason why Hubbard's legacy lives on and is even thriving. He has devised a system of living that I though Democrats would really go for. It doesn't involve prayer to GOD, for one. Ooops, I forgot that it is also very self-reliant. Dianetics is not for pussies.

Posted by: Robert Zimmerman | Jul 19, 2005 2:38:41 PM

Dianetics is not for pussies, Dianetics is for the incredibly credulous and intellectually disadvanteged.

I mean really, 75,000,000 years ago the cunning alien emperor xenu infested human beings' souls with hundreds of annoying invisible spirits (by putting billions of aliens in a volcano and blowing it up with an H-bomb). These alien souls (thetans) make humans vulnerable to illness and sorrows, depriving them of their godlike powers. But now, by forking out 360,000 dollars to the cult, thanks to the prodigious and miraculous scientific discoveries of L. Ron Hubbard, we'll be able to exorcise these spirits and get our omnipotence back!

How much crack do you have to smoke for this to make sense?

Cheers,

Naked Ape

Posted by: Naked Ape | Jul 19, 2005 4:29:08 PM

Well, I am not a Scientologist, but I did read Dianetics and don't remember much of that in the book. However, it has been quite a while ago. What I do remember is that the mental engrams were formed by negative experiences and most who get "cleared" do so by learning to become auditors themselves and auditing each other avoiding the high cost.

Posted by: Robert Zimmerman | Jul 19, 2005 4:52:29 PM

Ooops, I forgot that it is also very self-reliant.

How exactly is it self-reliant if it involves numerous regular visits to an "auditor" and the attendance of costly classes to move up to higher levels in the church?

Posted by: Iron Lungfish | Jul 19, 2005 5:32:28 PM

Scientology is self reliant in the same way that McDonalds makes health food.

Posted by: Keith | Jul 19, 2005 6:56:02 PM

Here's an easy mark. People believe six ridiculous things before breakfast. Checking down the list of religious premises on this planet is great fun. Even the one I still (nominally) subscribe to doesn't make intellectual sense.

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