It's funny how arguments about who is a critical thinker can play out. "Critical thinker" is a prestigious designation in many circles of modern Western culture, so it is not surprising that many people engaged in group scale conflicts implicitly argue that enlightened us are these critical thinkers as the norm and obstinate them can't or obstinately won't be. This tendency often encourages mere taunting with slogans in group scale conflicts. One might hurl taunting slogans with the intention that they ultimately help a group of inferior people somehow more resemble the superior people we are, but this approach frequently fails to persuade the other side. It may change them, but often not in the direction one was hoping for. It may make them simply more determined to not have their lives governed by people who think brief slogans hurled at them are supposed to be proof of a rival belief structure, which is the proof you are basically attempting to make when you assault someone else's belief structure.
Critical thinking is displayed, thus inviting engagement in it, in dialogue most of all. Socrates was a master of this dialogue approach. Socrates wasn't noted for seeking to belittle people he sought to persuade with taunts or acidic slogans. He knew the great power of the attitude "I don't know" rather than "I am obviously right, compared to you" as frequent elements of his dialogues with others. While we can't all hope to attain his degree of skill we can hope to avoid doing things counterproductive to establishing a persuasive dialogue. Hurling taunting slogans at the other side, which ousts and replaces dialogue, often hinders the prospect of useful dialogue then or in the future.
A big point in successful persuasion is to understand your audience. Committed Scientologists who might be persuaded to abandon their affiliation with the established church have at least these important traits, in my experience.
- They generally think in terms of the theta realm being in control and the objective world perceivable by the senses being the mere result of what actually is in control.
Attempts at reasoning which is confined to the objective realm of the senses and observable results are simply humorous to many of them and may not detain their thoughts for long when it comes to arguing their belief structure. This can be true even though in situations where they aren't disputing their religion they reason this way themselves. Something else kicks in when having to fight for their basic assumptions about existence. They may rapidly dismiss such arguments as coming from someone who is below a level of awareness that enables them to perceive the causes of events. "Wogs think that effects cause effects, rather than causes creating effects - LOL!" People without ability to perceive the actual source of events or results are pointless to listen to.
- They have a sad devotion to the idea that LRH/Ron is a superior sort of being and worth believing.
Asking them to explain something about that, with an inquiring Socratic "I don't know" approach can indeed spark critical thinking in them, which hurling taunted slogans seldom does. R is also a wonderful ju-jitsu tool to use to weaken commitment to the church because of this. Don't insult him, but instead deploy his stupid yak in the service of undercutting his stupid yak.
Attack a living C.O.B. and continued affiliation with him by contrasting him with R and reserve handling R's undeserved prestige for some other day. Really, if R were alive he would have C.O.B. assigned to scrubbing more toilets, not hosting more events. That's something you can persuade a committed Scientologist about if you aren't busy arousing their defensive posture with nasty jabs at them.
Forget trying to become a master of taunting slogan tech. Seek to engage people in respectful dialogue if you really want to change their basic beliefs and affiliation. Signs and slogans which lack respect and assume your interpretation of allegations will fit into the perceptual framework of everyone simply leaves it up to the committed Scientologist himself/herself to dig themselves out of this stupid affiliation they maintain.