US Seminar

I must admit, I am intrigued by the Raelians, so intrigued that I am on their mailing list (which is how I received word of this retreat in the Nevada desert). I find their philosophies and goals admirable. However, I find their leader to be a little, ok maybe alot, wacky. First, he renamed himself Rael (as in Israel). His birth name is Claude Vorilhon. In this post, I will refer to him by his birth name. However, he dresses more like someone from a StarTrek episode, which, by the way... take a look at this.
Episode from 1968
Scroll down the page to a small link under "Guest Cast" beside the name Jason Evers. Read about his character. Coincidental? ... maybe. I don't think so.

I think Mr. Claude Vorilhon (Rael) was a huge Star Trek fan. In fact, I am attempting to investigate this supposition. So, if you knew Mr. Vorilhon back in the early 1970's, please contact me at diffie1@yahoo.com. Does this mean that Mr. Vorilhon's philosophy and goals are invalid? No. Many people of genius intellect, which I believe Mr. Vorilhon may very well be, are eccentric. Could he be right about the Elohim? Most certainly. Do I believe that they have asked him to proselytize for them and to build an embassy for them? Nah, I highly doubt it. Where is the evidence? He has presented nothing that has not been spoken of or written about by Sci-Fi writers. Again, there seems to be more evidence of him being a science fiction buff than a connection to the Elohim.

So then, is this about money? I don't think so. I am guessing that Mr. Vorilhon is not getting rich off his excursion as Rael. He charges very reasonable fees for his books, tapes and seminars. If you have ever seen him, he appears to be a very loving and gentle human being. I think Mr. Vorilhon may have been an unappreciated genius who was frightened by the direction our world leaders were taking in the 1960's and 1970's and looked for a way to combat it. Becoming Rael was his answer. Again, this is supposition and cannot be proven by me unless someone were to hand me documents written by Mr. Vorilhon or provide testimony about what they knew of him during those years. Why do I concern myself at all with this man? Good question.

Several of his "position statements," if you will, I find a bit disturbing. For example, he would have us abandon democracy for an oligarchy. Rael would have us be ruled by those who have an intelligence that is at least 40% greater than the average human being. In addition, only those with an intelligence of at least 10% above average would be allowed to vote for their leadership. Hmmm... So we are to "trust" the ultra-geniuses to make the right decisions for the non-geniuses. Let's say those ultra-geniuses decide that non-geniuses (or the majority of the population) should be their slaves. It is not uncommon for people of genius intellect to develop a "god complex." Thanks, but no thanks, Claude.

In addition to "rule by genius," private land ownership would be abolished. This is the most basic definition of communism, which Mr. Vorilhon says he opposes. These ideas sound very Lennonist to me. But then, I'm not a genius, so what right do I have to even speak anyway?