AUTHOR
Wayne Hanson
I'm a writer and Dianetics counselor who lives in Sacramento, Calif. I have a wonderful life, a creative career, a loving family, and I would not trade places with anyone. I do have a dog who poops on the rug. www.wayneedwardhanson.com
TOLERANCE
If I were a traditional journalist, I would not interview Bishop Jon Fish of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He makes no accusations, nurses no grudges, minimizes conflicts, ignores those who denigrate his faith, and works to spread understanding and inclusion. He’s a “glass half full” kind of guy, and a journalist or an editor looking for a quick piece of clickbait or a mean-spirited comment for “controversy” would come up empty.
MEDIA & ETHICS
It’s a fantastic time to be a news junkie. I subscribe to Google Alert keywords for religion, health and mental health as well as news of the Oregon Coast where I live. For an international perspective, I track Al Jazeera , the BBC and Deutsche Welle.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
A few bigoted individuals have used the pandemic as an excuse to spread hate against Asian Americans. By the same illogic Asians could blame me for the proliferation of gigantic American sodas and refined fast-food carbohydrates ruining people’s health around the world.
TOLERANCE
The United Nations and its member states have a complicated history with regard to religious freedom.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Religious intolerance is an old story in humanity, nearly as old as religion itself. But tolerance is old too: Cyrus the Great, one of the founders of the Persian Empire back in 500 BC, built his empire on religious tolerance.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Watching a condemned person die by hanging was once a public spectacle. Today, that is not the case—there is no entrance fee, and witnesses are not allowed to throw vegetables or cheer. But most often the witnesses are hostile to the person. After all, this is the ultimate punishment, and the condemned will finally pay for their crimes with their lives. The families of victims will finally have their revenge, or simple closure of that which began with harm done to their loved one.
TOLERANCE
If you complain long and loud to a Scientologist about your spouse, your boss, your church or your kids, the Scientologist may ask you an interesting question: “Have you done something they almost found out about?”
TOLERANCE
Humankind at its finest sees a tree not as a green blob, but a Maple, its leaves individually defined, each one a bit different from the others—in all their variety and beauty, part of a larger and complex unity.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
If bigotry were simple, we would have already solved it. But it isn’t and we haven’t. So here’s a look at the roots of bigotry from a Scientology point of view.
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
My wife and I recently had a free weekend and decided to drive to the coast. But as we traveled west, dark clouds rolled in, and by the time we found a motel room, lightning flashed, thunder boomed and the rain poured down.
