All I can say is that in Hubbard’s time there was nothing that made me feel like this.
There were no International Events.

There were local events which usually ended with a fairly muted Hip-Hip-Hooray for Hubbard. People stood up for this sometimes, but remained seated (and quiet) throughout the rest.

There were those who considered Hubbard to be infallible, but I was never one of those and neither were many of the others at my org (even staff members.)

I think one of Miscavige’s talents is to take something that was sub-optimal in the first place and make it much worse.

But it started long before Miscavige tenure, I was introduced to it by the man I would marry, in Paris France . He took me to an event at the only org , they called it a “party “ back then in 1976 .
There was some talking but I don’t remember what was said , all my red flags went on when I saw a huge picture of LRH , a blow out as big as a wall , then they all jumped to their feet for the applause in front of that picture . It was screaming “cult “ to me even though I was too young to understand the danger .
Right then and there I knew to keep one foot out and I did . That foot out allowed me to leave eventually .

I’d have been disappointed had you not worked in Body Thetans. Thank you for doing it so early in the post.

Actually LRH was much more in line with Soviet style/Far Left Fascism. Examples: his imitating Soviets gulags with the RPF; imitating Soviet show trials with Comm Evs; imitating Soviet forced confessions with Sec checks; socialist style “pay” depriving workers of their share for their production for “the good of the group”; Soviet style informing of one’s spouse, family and friends; imitating Soviet PR of always lying about and totally exaggerating achievements …Well, that’s just a start …

Fascism from the 1930s to the modern era also fit under that long black leather coat. And Hubbard’s alt-right ideology has always been a strange bedfellow with the sort of Christian rightism that is now admiring of just that sort of totalitarian leaders.

Yes without their ego they are like pierced balloons or used condoms, no use to themselves or anyone.

Lol!
Without their ego, they are deflated like pierced balloons.

Yes! Ego with no bounds. Exteriorized ego.

Cindy, often you see them in all their ‘stature’ almost alone within vast empty spaces like squares or stages. But in reality, those are not empty spaces; they serve to contain all their ego. Poor them.