Kemist, I don’t wholly disagree that people go out-ethics and become criminal to solve the problem of poverty. That said, how would you account for the many, many desperately poor immigrants who came to America and faced tremendous hardship, no welfare, no job security, only given the dirtiest jobs and lucky to get even those, no getting anything free from the government, severe discrimination (“No Irish Need Apply”), not to mention the children and grandchildren of those blacks born into slavery and all they faced merely because of the color of their skin – sure, some of the Irish went criminal, and some of the Italians aligned with the Mafia, and a portion of the American blacks became violent and dangerous, but the truth is, the vast majority of these people did NOT become criminals, but worked their way out of poverty into the midde class and even beyond. Of course, the drugs proliferating today were not available to them, and, laugh or sneer if you will, there was something called a “work ethic”, and, laugh or sneer if you will even more, they really did believe in something called “The American Dream”, plus they pulled together and helped each other. That’s how they got out of poverty. That’s the only way anyone gets out of poverty,barring going criminal.

You can see the same thing happening today – its been happening since the 70s I think, with the Asians. They loan each other money, they start businesses, they work like crazy, in continual shifts, and one day, you’re writing your rent check to Mrs. Chang or Mr. Ting or some Asian name – Chinese, Korean, etc. People whose parents were up to their knees in rice fields. As for the Japanese, they certainly rallied after we dropped an atom bomb on them. They recovered somehow, took a good look at what we were producing in the USA, copied it, put up with the world’s jeers as re “Made in Japan” while they were still learning, and now they make most things better than we do. Nobody gave them a break either.

I could go on but you get my point.

Wecome, Sarita, and thank you so much for sharing your story with us!

Overrun, I respectfully disagree. I like the Way To Happiness. I think its precepts are sound. Of course its not original, so what? They are provenly workable and written in an easy to read, non-judgemental and non-threatening, “do this or else” way.

My objection to the WTH pertains not at all to its messages per or even to its inflated cost, but in its being distributed to wrong publics.

In my opinion, WTH could have a positive effect if it were distributed neither in emergencies to victims of floods, fires, earthquakes, nor to townspeoples in fear, grief and anger over mass shootings or some other tragedy, nor to people in recreation and game mode attending major sports events, etc., but instead, distributed to well fed, well rested, reasonably literate school teens of all nationalities between the ages of 10 and 16, who are NOT PTPd with any major losses or sits, NOT sitting in the middle of any crisis, but rather in a receptive enough state wherein READING something that does not sound religious (“Thou shalt not…”), exacts no penalties for non-compliance (“If thou dost not obey, the wrath of the Lord shall be upon you, etc. etc.”) but rather, something that can appeal to a chlld’s innate common sense and self-determined desire to survive with NO threats of punishment, hell or damnation for not “obeying”, something that is offered (never forced) to the child to read or not read, to use or not use, yes, it is my opinion that the Way To Happiness could and would, do some good, and, yes, possibly even change some lives for the better, if offered in this way and under these conditions. And not only to children, but to well fed/rested/housed/clothed and otherwise unrestimulated and non-hugely PTP’s adults as well.

I believe that the WTH contains basic wisdom that can help a person to help himself, but that person has to be ready, willing and able to read it and understand it, and even then the person will not necessarily cognite right then and there! Such things can take time! That doesn’t mean that what is being communicated doesn’t make sense, or isn’t very good advice.

For example, as an adult, new into Scientology, I read WTH, and skimmed over “Learn to live with the truth” with an inward, bored, “Oh, for sure…” Many years later, experiencing plenty of cognitive dissonance as regards my “religion” I GOT it, I really did. “Learn to live with the truth”, was why I got INTO Scientology, and what I had been striving for all my life, and was why, at that point, I had to leave the Church of Scientology.

Essentially, my point is that WTH is being falsely PRd and distributed to the wrong people.

Who has actually read the 10 commandments or understood them, is more the question. I have never read them and only have a vague idea of what they contain. Unless as a child you went to Sunday School I think most will have never read them and even the probably not. But I don’t get your reason for raising the point – is it just to try and trash something that Hubbard did? No one is contending that the 10 Commandments exist or that some of them will be contained in the WTH. I see no “convolutions” in the WTH either. THE WTH is a straightforward little booklet. It seems you are just looking for any angle to criticize Hubbard and in this as in most other cases the argument is baseless and opinionated.

The payment factor etc was already covered by me in my comments and by others.

You’re WAY to generous, SL4S! I’d say it’s 99% of the time.

Hi FP…..you state that you know of no other organization that has produced a more simple moral code……please tell me you see that LRH’s 21 precepts are watered down versions of the 10 Commandments. One could argue the Commandments are ‘more simple’ as there are only 10. LRH took the 10 and convoluted them, as he seemed to do with everything (developing new spellings and his own definitions, or even new words, etc.). Do a side by side comparison and you will see. For some, LRH never bothered to renumber! (#5 Honor your Mother and Father)
Though I do agree with Mike, at face value the pamphlet itself does no harm, it’s just the people collecting money and making outrageous claims (“buy 10mm books and the world will be crime free!”) that creates the real harm.

The number of people in the emergency room.

Does that means Olympics cure people ? Of course not.

This is just the very well known “Bread and Games” effect which has been exploited ever since politics exist.

When people are well fed and have something entertaining to watch they forget the very serious problems around them for a while and are quite calm. It also quite often fills up a huge portion of the news, so that even if you are not amongst the entertained / anesthetized, there is not much you can do to rouse anybody during those times.

The belief in TWTH (or the 10 commendments or any other moral code) as a way to “reduce crime” or “calm people” shows a spectacular misundertanding of human nature and psychology. Every single human has their own internal moral code, independantly and often despite their religion. They have to if they are to live in a minimally cohesive society.

What makes some “criminals” is in most cases justified by circumstances, and whatever moral system you have to sell them doesn’t change anything in those circumstances. Fight inequality and disparity and you’ll have less crime overall. Make the poor poorer to enrich the rich, and you’ll have more crime. If there is no legit way to climb out of crippling poverty, people will take the criminal route. Well fed people sitting in comfortable homes are extremely condescending when they think such things happen because of a lack of moral code, religious or not. Hand-outs of food and such, while necessary to adress basic necessities, don’t do anything against the feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness that accompany abject poverty, feelings which are actually made more accute by a society which shames them for needing that help in the first place. Neither do moral codes, which don’t even feed you.

The difference between my home town, where I have no fear to go out at night anywhere, and Detroit, where I’d be nervous to go in daytime, is that people of my home town have the opportunity to get jobs and an education which allow them to climb up socially no matter who their parents were, the color of their skin, or how rich they are. This perspective is not open to the people living in Detroit. Or Flint.

But facing these things, which show the complete failure of a system, is hard, so that’s why you see those idiotic solutions instead.

If future Space people do DIG UP David Miscaviges
Titanium /stainless steel plates , they will laugh their asses off.
They will will be sold off as weird caveman art for really hip
space guys to impress space chicks , hanging on the bedroom wall of
a space crib. That’s where your Bridge money goes besides PI’s,lawyers,
fancy cars, $5,000. shoes, expensive food around the clock.

Bill – no, the date I gave was wrong – it was 1995. I am not a rugby fan, which is probably why I got the date wrong – but I do remember driving down Long Street in Cape Town while the final was on, and seeing not another car nor human being. It was surreal!

Statpush – for me the debate is worth it for the benefit of those who are still under the influence, but looking and wondering. And oh yes, its also for OSA who monitors this site. Wouldn’t it be great if they eventually saw the truth and stopped obeying insane orders /stopped listening to him? I wonder if they know how much power they have as a group, and just stood up to it before it all collapses beneath them. Well, I can dream….

Regarding the use of TWTH in society. I think the principles will not move the way society thinks in Europe, US and Britain. I live in a country that has produced highly successful businessmen, doctors lawyers, human rights activists, etc and yet at the opposite side of the spectrum there are those who kill without remorse or second thoughts, those who consider lying to be OK as long as you don’t get caught, those who would not know what to do with a toothbrush, and so on. Religion (mostly Christianity) has been a key factor in educating and “civilising” southern Africa along the lines of the morals contained in WTH. Some consider this to be colonialism, and hate it yet, even worse, was apartheid (which is a form of disconnection) and was the key factor in suppressing the natural evolution of a cohesive society with a defined set of values. Morals and socially acceptable behaviour is something that needs to be taught at primary schools – not at sports functions with people who have money to buy a ticket to a game. They are not the ones who need it. The CoS sales pitch is a means of making money. The only “help” that is on this scene is the ability to press the members “help” button to pay up.