I’ve just wasted nine minutes of my life watching THE “Tom Cruise Scientology video”. It’s supposedly been pulled off YouTube due to copyright infringement, but was still available this morning on Gawker for anyone else with nine minutes to chuck away.
My impression, apart from a long held opinion of Tom Cruise as an overly-rich, spoiled brat, is that the church of Scientology, far from wishing to suppress the video, is milking the attention for all it’s worth. Even the BBC showed excerpts.
Frankly, I don’t give a tinker’s cuss for the Church of Scientology, or any other religious marketing organization, until they attempt to take over my life. Then, I object strongly. The Christians have been doing it, under the guise of “spreading the gospel”, for as long as I can remember. Now, Islam is attempting to knock Christianity of the top spot for violently interfering in people’s lives, and it seems from listening to the crap spouted by Cruise, that his lot are now attempting a stab at the Premier Division.
Cruise’s message was, “We’re not messing about, if you’re not in the ballpark, you’re out the arena.”
Most of us, at some time or other, have started one of those interminable internet sales pitches intended to sell some e-book on a worthless product or philosophy, scrolled on and on through myriad highlighted sections telling us how wonderful our lives will be if we just…… well, we have to buy the product to find out what will change our lives so dramatically…… and, of course, it never really does and we feel fooled and cheated……
That was how I felt, watching Cruise’s video. He uses the word, “it”, over and over, yet never quite gets around to defining what “it” really is.
Madonna is another ‘entertainer’ besotted by her latest attempt to redefine her spirituality, and quick to push it on all and sundry. Her latest belief system is an exotic form of Judaism.
Embrace of Kabbalism was rapidly followed, apparently, by a strong desire to adopt black children, and slaughter innocent birds. Fine, if that’s what turns you on, but count me out. Shooting anything, or eating it for that matter, is not in my philosophy.
I have no objection whatever to anything anyone chooses to believe. It is entirely the right of people to follow beliefs organized for them by various and nefarious clerics, and suffer arthritis of the knees in the process from too much kneeling on hard surfaces and I, for one, am more than happy to let them.
When these matters evolve from the ridiculous to the dangerous, however, I lose patience. This is particularly true when religiots begin banging their drums on my doorstep, and demand I conform to their own warped standards, as is the case when they gain a foothold in the corridors of political power.
Even worse is when the religious thought process produces mental instability and they begin wars and oppression of others that result in thousands, if not millions of deaths, and untold suffering. At this point they should be locked away in a padded cell and the key disposed of at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
In case anyone out there and reading this is thinking that I really need a dose of their latest belief system to sort me out, allow me to paraphrase my position.
Do whatever you wish within the privacy of your own home or chosen meeting house, but keep your illogical, crazy, ideals away from my presence. I’ve been there; seen it; done it. I even have the ‘T’-shirt. Now, I’ve moved on to a saner, more humane, existence where belief is not dependent on dusty old books and weird rituals.
Yes, there is a life beyond religion – and it’s a better, less self-centered way. So, all you “Tom Cruise’s” out there, pour over your books, chant your ritualistic nonsense if you must. But leave me out of it, and for God’s sake –
Get the Hell off my back and out of my life!
Filed under: Sick of fools
