Dan P. Lee of New York Magazine quizzed Beck about his new album, you know the sheet music one Alyson can't stop writing about, and apparently got him to open up a little. Here is the except and then I'll tell you what's actually going down:
"He is even comfortable talking about his relationship to Scientology — “always the last question journalists ask,” and a topic he used to avoid completely. He says he does not have any opinion about why so many people seem so interested in it. He says his father was involved in Scientology since before he was born and “has had lots of benefits from it,” that “it’s just something that I’ve been around.” “Some people,” he says, “do yoga, some people get into meditation, a whole half of my family are all Presbyterian and they’re very churchgoing, and my grandfather on my mother’s side was smoking hash and drinking beer every night.
“Everybody,” he continues, “is trying to figure out a way to deal with their issues and things that are unresolved. I mean, some things just don’t resolve. But whatever’s going to get you through. That’s my feeling about it.”
So Scientology is a part of his life?
“Yeah,” he says, “people in my family do it. I’ve read books, and I’ve learned about it. I mean, what I’m doing — I have a job, raising kids, I have friends, I have my interests, so I think my life is pretty full. I’m not off doing some weirdo stuff.
“When there is a consensus about [anything],” he says, “I kind of have to take my own council. Whether you characterize a group of people as probable terrorists, however a media can represent a nationality or religion, there’s always more to it. Within that culture there’s warlike people, there’s beatific, peace-loving people, there’s people just trying to make a buck, there’s people selfless, greedy …”
Well, he is certainly right about terrorists but Beck can't hide from the bogus even by super bogus religious universes, nature of Scientology. Look: all religions are pretty damn sily unless you believe in them. The only reason the Mormons and the Scientologys seem more like cults is because they are closer to us than Mohammed is.
Still, my promise with Scintology isn't that it is nonsense on the face of it because so is everybody else. My problem with it, is it hasa reputation for some serious rough stuff. And it is in the business of money. Er, like all other religions come to think of it. And they are Babes In The wood compared to the Catholic Church. the richest organization on Earth…
OK, it's one thing to believe you have an eternal soul (and an Angel Oligarchy) another thing to believe you are eternal souls who have forgotten your true nature and if you pay a lot of money you can discover it. There is bogus and then there is bogus. The problem with Scientology is the lie is
a) too complicated
b) not good enough
and
c) too obvious in its pursuit of money.
L. Ron Hubbard was a sci-fi writer gor goodness ske. What do you need?
Whatever, when it comes to religion everything that isn't yours sound bogus and Scientology sounds worse than most.