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In Support of Human Rights
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Janet Laveau
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ver the years, I have had the privilege of working with many great men and women in the field of human rights. I have always admired those who refuse to turn a blind eye to injustice and intolerance. Often, wrongs that need righting have been widely talked about and complained about for years, or even decades, before some individual stands up to say, “Things don’t have to be this way.”
One such individual is Dr. Thomas Szasz – one of the world’s most authoritative critics of a sector of modern society teeming with horror stories and human rights abuses, yet which, in some circles, has managed to maintain a pretense of scientific objectivity.
The field is psychiatry. In the words of Dr. Szasz, “Psychiatry is probably the most destructive force that has affected the American society within the last fifty years.”
It is very well worth examining some of the evidence that would lead to such a conclusion.
The reference to “American society” is only reflective of the audience Dr. Szasz was addressing at the time. His words are just as true for our society, and those of many, many other countries. In the last issue of Freedom we exposed the full story of Leilani Muir who, along with thousands of other Canadians, was sterilized by psychiatrists acting on precisely the same philosophy that gave the world the Holocaust – the racial hygiene of eugenics.
In this issue we take another look at psychiatry. If you believe you have no personal experience upon which to judge the truth or falsity of Dr. Szasz’s assertion, consider this: an estimated $400 million of your tax dollars were siphoned off into psychiatric hands in the last decade in just one aspect of psychiatric fraud – the abuse of medical insurance. We cover this and related matters in detail in this issue.
On a more positive note, we have also included articles which will provide you with some up-to-date news on what we in the Church of Scientology are doing in society.
You have almost certainly heard something of Scientology recently. There is little doubt that it has become one of the most talked about religions in the world. This is not surprising considering the spiritual and practical knowledge it offers to all who care to look.
“Psychiatry is probably the most destructive force that has affected ... society within the last fifty years.”
– Dr. Thomas Szasz
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For one thing, it is the only religion in the last century to emerge from entirely new discoveries about the spirit, life, and the interrelationships between the Supreme Being, immortal man and the physical universe.
And while it follows the oldest of all religious traditions, Scientology is not a schism of any other religion from an older civilization. And it is not something taken only on faith. It is something one does, and can experience and observe oneself.
But it is Scientologists’ involvement in the community that you are most likely to hear about. Whether they are artists and leaders on the world stage, or young children leading “Say No to Drugs” campaigns among their peers, Scientologists can be found doing things that bring hope for the future. It was such activities that led to the subject of one of the articles we feature in this issue – the renaming of a Los Angeles city street now dedicated to the religion’s founder.
If there is anything in this Freedom that you would like to know more about – our beliefs, our community activities or social reform work – our doors are open. Call in and find out for yourself.
Please feel free to write and share your comments about this edition of Freedom. Your views are valued and very welcome.
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