Into the Ring

Plunk. Plunk. Plop. That’s the sound of hats being tossed in the ring as the 2012 elections loom. So what is the Scientologist’s view of politics? Well, they range from left to right and fall anywhere in between. Politics are personal and, as someone who considers herself fairly interested in politics, I sometimes am amazed at just how widely divergent the views of my fellow parishioners are.

As left, right and center as a Scientologist’s views are, Scientology itself is nonpolitical. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.” The Church is willing to work with politicians, or anyone of any persuasion, in pursuing those goals. And it does so, day in and day out all around the world.

I’ve noticed that Scientologists who get involved in the political process usually chime in over one of those issues. Mental health, criminality, war, human rights are often catalysts for folks to speak out or reach out to an officeholder.

From time to time, however, when politicians make unwise, outrageous, corrupt or even dangerous moves, I have been known to get “up in arms.” It’s then that I recall a great quote from L. Ron Hubbard who said: “…instead of worrying day and night about what the federal government is or is not going to do, instead of worrying about the fact that we apparently have no sweepingly effective leaders, and instead of worrying about what they did do or didn’t do or what the army says or didn’t say or what the navy says about the army, and so forth, instead of worrying about this sort of thing, would it not be possible to just skip it.

“That’s a rather startling proposal, but just skip it and be effective by making it possible for a country to exist some time in the future. Instead of worrying about whether it exists now, or whether it’s functioning now, let’s just get down to the grass roots and begin to grow a country, person by person, guy by guy, IQ by IQ. And sooner or later these people will be smart enough to find some leaders and get a show on the road.”

And that is what the Scientologist’s contribution to politics really is. Yep. That’s our position. We’ll play it.