OPENING ADDRESS IN HONOR OF L. RON HUBBARD'S BIRTHDAY 2002 - PART II
Mr. David Miscavige Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center Opening Address in Honor of L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday 2002
Continued ...
So yes, the strategic placement of a single L. Ron Hubbard “solution” can change the course of a culture.
And under that very heading, let’s now take a look at the L. Ron Hubbard answer to global drug abuse.
Since the opening of Narconon Arrowhead, in August, word of what they provide has been moving out in very serious ways, as underscored by this one.
It follows from a recent program to reach the millions with the message that “help is possible.”
Now, you have to understand, charitable organizations, such as drug rehab centers, aren’t known for massive advertising budgets. After all, salvaging people from drugs is hardly the big business profit-maker, that drug-pushing cartels are.
That’s why Public Service Announcements are so important. That is, air time donated by networks to promote charitable causes. Typically, stations might run two minutes a day of that kind of content. Consequently, if you do manage to get a public service message placed, you might be fortunate enough to see it air once, every two days.
But when the first message on L. Ron Hubbard drug rehab technology was presented to the world’s largest cable news network, they were also briefed on how that technology saves lives — by a Narconon staff member who is a living testament to that fact.
Those CNN executives were so impressed, they put Narconon’s message on the air, in prime-time “regular rotation,” for two full months. And that was daily, even twice a day.
Narconon staff members next began contacting other stations across North America. And scores of them likewise followed suit — literally from coast to coast.
But the climax of this story follows from a meeting between a Narconon executive, and CNN’s Chief of Public Service Broadcasting. Now normally, a station will only run someone’s PSA for 4 to 8 weeks, at the outside.
But here’s what that CNN executive wanted to know: Could Narconon provide another PSA?
Or as that network actually phrased it, so long as Narconon can supply their message, CNN will run it.
Now, given that, it is absolutely no wonder the number of those now contacting Narconon, is ten-times over last year.
In fact, Arrowhead itself receives 700 phone calls every week, requesting help. They are, quite literally, bursting at the seams, even building bunk beds to accommodate the flow of students.
And beyond that, every other US Narconon is also filled to capacity.
All of which brings us to Arrowhead’s second crucial role: to serve as a “generation plant,” by training professionals to open new Narconons.
And Arrowhead has taken on that role in a truly global sense. For example, there’s the Siberian region of Irkutsk. It’s larger than France and England combined.
And while it may seem pretty far afield, it’s also got a serious problem. As a matter of fact, nearly one out of every three males between the ages of 18 and 20 uses narcotics.
So one Narconon graduate decided to do something very serious about it. Specifically, he connected up with a team of trained personnel, to establish Narconon Krasnoyarsk.
That’s not only a first for Narconon — it’s the first rehab center, of any type, for the whole of Siberia. And on March the first, it was officially opened with a ribbon cutting led by no less than the governor of the entire region!
But that Siberian Narconon is only part of the picture.
Because, just since last September, Arrowhead has opened new rehab and education centers, at the rate of about one per week.
In Russia, it included Ufa, Chelny, Barnaul, Tolyatti, Padolsk, and Chelyabinsk. Then there was Italy, with Milano, Lucca, Monza, Pescara, and La Tenuta. And extending even further afield, there was Johannesburg; Ghana; Belgium; Karachi, Pakistan; Bombay, India; not to mention, Florida and Great Lakes USA.
That’s four countries opened for the first time, and 20 new centers in just the last seven months!
But there’s a bigger story. And it follows from just how L. Ron Hubbard technology is viewed, by other professionals in the field.
The story begins with the National Board of Addictions Examiners. It’s one of America’s leading authorities, charged with ensuring quality drug rehabilitation services. Their certification carries a lot of weight in the field. It’s often a prerequisite to securing insurance, state or federal funding. In order to even apply for Board certification, applicants must have a college degree and further training, in a specific field.
But when Narconon staff briefed the Board, on L. Ron Hubbard drug rehab technology and how their staff are trained — it changed their whole “think.”
And how dramatic was that change?
As of tonight, no less than 22 Arrowhead staff have now been recognized as, Certified Chemical Dependency Counselors. Moreover, training in L. Ron Hubbard technology at Narconon, now officially replaces all college training requirements. And finally, Narconon executives have now been welcomed to the Board, with authority to verify completion of those requirements, themselves. Now that’s L. Ron Hubbard technology leading the way, for the entire field of drug rehabilitation!
Then there is the program which embraces them all, and our most important in reversing the downward trend of society: The Volunteer Minister Program.
Needless to say, the most vital component of this campaign is you — meaning the Volunteer Ministers.
Since you were last briefed, the number in training has only increased. As a matter of fact, at no time in history have so many Scientologists been on the same course, at the same time. And as we celebrate L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, the number of active Volunteer Ministers (VM) now exceeds 15,400!
Then again there is our campaign that “SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT.”
And it has continued to roll out. The billboards carrying our messages are in cities across the world, from Hollywood to Hamburg, and from Brescia, to right here in Tampa — literally thousands in all. And that’s all in addition to our message now running on radio and television.
And it’s a good thing so many of you trained up. Because, as of tonight, over 60,000 people have contacted the VM Hotline Unit — more than 6,000 per week.
But that figure is only going to increase. Because, our VM groups are also starting to get their message out on every imaginable channel, as this last one illustrates.
In San Diego, they decided to target the source of the false solutions. Specifically: the legal drug industry.
Of course, it’s the most insidious suppression, responsible for the state of society today. The big lie that emotions are just so much chemical reaction, to be tinkered with by taking the right pill. Which brings us to San Diego, and one of the largest pharmacy chains in America.
And while we can’t stop doctors from writing “prescriptions”, we can let people know the real answer.
So, for the next twelve months, every single bag used to fill those prescriptions — hundreds-of-thousands in all — will now contain our toll free number and the message: “No Matter how bad it is — SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT!”
But most important are the actions of our VM’s and what they are doing.
As a first note, the effectiveness of our VM’s at Ground Zero continues to spread.
And for proof of that, you need go no further than Clearwater’s Student VM’s.
After tracking stories of what they had done, a Florida TV producer ran a feature news spot on local television. But he took it one step further, and tipped off other media to the story. The result was a three minute news segment, broadcast repeatedly just last month, on CNN Student News and in class rooms nationwide.
Meanwhile, and since the disaster of 9/11, VM’s have been working at virtually every planetary hot spot. Last December, they trained a Fire Sergeant responsible for instructing more than 10,000 firefighters, in Brazil’s largest city. That was followed by a training session for hundreds of those Sao Paulo firefighters — held in the local sports arena. Meanwhile, that sergeant is now doing the Volunteer Minister Course himself.
Then in January, when Mount Nyiragongo erupted in the Congo, more than 150 VM’s from that nation, and neighboring Rwanda, mobilized to provide help to the half-million displaced residents.
They delivered group processing on local radio and television, and hatted an official from the Ministry of Defense — using the Scientology Handbook. Soon, he was wearing the yellow shirt of a Volunteer Minister and working alongside the other VM’s. As he put it, “While so many others ‘promised’ to help, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers actually delivered.”
Then there’s Australia, where brush fires raged throughout December and January. As firefighters worked around the clock to contain the blaze, our VM’s were right there, again the focus of national news.
But word of the results of L. Ron Hubbard technology at Ground Zero preceded our Volunteer Ministers in Australia. As a matter of fact, when a firefighter saw one of the first VM’s on the scene, he asked: “You’re from Scientology, aren’t you?”
When he was told the statement was correct, he responded, “I’m ready for my first assist!”
That was the story, over and over, as our VM’s worked alongside thousands of firefighters and delivered hundreds of assists. And when the work was done, they were cheered as heroes as they marched in two parades — including the “ticker-tape” parade down Sydney’s main street!
But, for a final example of how a Volunteer Minister can have far-reaching effects, there is this, from Macedonia. It was from this land of civil unrest and ethnic conflict, that a government official called a VM for help.
He wanted assistance to handle a situation in his life — an “ethics situation.” Soon, with the help of the VM and the booklet on ethics, he was applying condition formulas for the first time. The result, as he described it:
“I have in my hands a golden tool from L. Ron Hubbard that will forever help me to survive.”
But the story doesn’t end there. He next called the VM wondering why people now acted differently toward him. As he put it, some in his office now seemed “afraid” of him, while from others, he now received “respect” — for the first time.
He didn’t know what to make of it.
So the VM explained to him the concept of “ethics presence.”
Ten days later, he called that VM again, to tell her this:
“It must be my ethics presence.
“I have just been promoted to Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the nation of Switzerland.”
And yes — he is now on post in his new office!
All of which brings us back to this evening, and what our event is all about.
Because, factually, everything we’ve covered so far are merely stepping stones, to what really matters:
Our organizations and the Bridge to Total Freedom itself.
And nothing could be more appropriate to complete a planetary overview of L. Ron Hubbard technology, than our success in freeing beings.
Because, if speed of expansion is important with groups and Mankind, then it is definitely of concern for the individual.
Factually, our greatest efforts this past year were on that front — removing arbitraries and speeding progress up-the-bridge.
And as we celebrate L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday this year, here’s how it looks:
— The number of Clears, each week, has tripled in our Class V Organizations.
— Speed of progress from Clear through New OT V — New Era Dianetics for OT’s — has quadrupled in our Advanced Organizations.
— Moreover, the number of OTs made in our Advanced Organizations has increased six times, while here in Clearwater it has increased by a factor of nine.
Finally, there is this: Last year we spoke of the need to create a continuous flow of OTs at the very top of the Bridge. Well, here in Clearwater you have been seeing just that.
And to punctuate it all, there are the six new OT VII and three New OT VIII completions — just this week!
Now that’s taking the top off the bridge and what it really means to say, “Happy Birthday — Sir!”
Mr. David Miscavige concluded:
So yes, when we talk about moving L. Ron Hubbard technology across the planet, we’re doing it from the lowest levels, all the way to the top. And that’s what this evening’s event is all about.
Because, let there be no doubt, nothing is more important than what is happening right now in our organizations and what we do with that technology.
oOo
