66 pristine and crisp pages from Art, including this 9 page letter
By Federal Express
Dear Linda:
Doug Plette has asked me to send you materials that address allegations regarding Landmark contained in your Web Site. I have reviewed your Web Site and it seems biased toward having people who read the material come away with a negative impression of Landmark and its programs. I can't tell whether that is intentional on your part or the product of your being only partially informed. We are not the bad guys you portray us to be and we do not do the damage that you think we do. That does not mean we don't have things to work on. We are committed to serving our customers and responding to valid criticism.
Therefore, I am providing information and enclosing materials to correct a number of critical misimpression's reflected in your Web Site. These misimpression's include that Landmark and its programs are a cult, its programs are harmful and its programs include thought reform and mind control. The information and materials are as follows:
A. Landmark is an employee-owned company that delivers educational programs to the public in the United States and fourteen other countries. Landmark offers a four-part Curriculum For Living, with the basic program being The Landmark Forum, together with several other programs on subjects including communication and productivity.
The Landmark Forum deals with the fundamental questions and issues which are key to shaping and determining people's effectiveness, creativity and satisfaction. As a result of participation in The Landmark Forum, people have the opportunity to create new possibilities for effective action in all aspects of their lives, and to act upon these possibilities.
I am enclosing material containing general background information regarding Landmark and its programs. Included in this information are the results of a study of more than 1,300 people who participated in The Landmark Forum. Daniel Yankelovich, a noted U.S. social scientist and public opinion analyst, analyzed the study and commented as follows:
"Several of the study's findings surprised me quite a bit, especially the large number of participants for whom The Landmark Forum proved to be 'one of the most valued experiences of my life.' This is not a sentiment that people, particularly successful, well-educated people, express lightly. More than seven out of ten found The Landmark Forum to be one of their life's most rewarding experiences. To me, this suggests that it addresses many of people's most profound concerns - how to improve their personal relationships, how to be a more effective person, how to think productively about their lives and goals. I can understand why people recommend The Landmark Forum to their associates, relatives and friends."
B. Cults - The facts are clear that Landmark and its program The Landmark Forum are not a cult. To this end, I am enclosing materials making clear that Landmark and The Landmark Forum are not a cult. These materials consist of the following:
1. Numerous cult experts, psychiatrists, psychologists, clergy members, judges and other qualified professionals have participated in The Landmark Forum and have given their opinion that The Landmark Forum is not a cult. These include the following:
(a) Raymond Fowler, Ph.D., the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Psychological Association, in a letter dated February 22, 1995, stated his personal opinion that The Landmark Forum in no way resembles a cult and has no cult-like characteristics. Dr. Fowler stated:
"The Forum, in my personal opinion, does not remotely resemble a cult and it puzzles me that any reasonable person could think that it does."
(b) Lowell Streiker, Ph.D., a recognized expert in the United States on cults, in a letter dated February 15, 1993, identified common characteristics of cults and concluded as follows; "
None of these characteristics is to be found in The Forum or Landmark Education. The Forum is not a cult in any sense of the word, religious or otherwise."
(c) Bishop Otis Charles, a Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the former Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Boston, Massachusetts, stated in a letter dated September 24, 1992:
"By no definition that I know of can The Forum or Landmark's programs be considered part of a cult. In fact, quite the opposite, the organization and courses are conducted in a way that is entirely consistent with any accredited educational institution.'*
(d) Letters from 6 ranking law enforcement officers, including the Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, all of whom have participated in The Landmark Forum.
(e) Letters from 6 psychiatrists and psychologists who have participated in The Landmark Forum.
(f) Letters from 8 well-respected clergy (in addition to Bishop Charles) from major religious denominations who have participated in The Landmark Forum and have endorsed participation by other members of the clergy. It is inconceivable that these clergy members would have done this if they considered that Landmark or The Landmark Forum is a cult.
2. Anti-cult organizations and their experts, after having reviewed the facts, changed their previous position and concluded that that Landmark and The Landmark Forum are not a cult. These include the following:
(a) Landmark reached an Agreement in November, 1997 with the Board of Directors of the Cult Awareness Network ("CAN"), the most prominent anti-cult organization in the United States, in settlement of Landmark's lawsuit brought in Chicago, Illinois in 1994 for statements made and materials distributed that alleged or implied that Landmark and The Landmark Forum are a cult. The Settlement Agreement was reached with the Board of Directors of the original CAN, the organization against which Landmark's lawsuit was brought, NOT with the new organization holding itself out as the Cult Awareness Network Hotline which is operated by the Foundation for Religious Freedom and in some way related to Scientology.
Under the Settlement Agreement signed by the Board of Directors of CAN, CAN agreed that:
(i)"CAN does not hold the position that Landmark or any of the programs of Landmark, including The Landmark Forum, is a cult."
(ii) "CAN has never had evidence that would justify taking the position that either Landmark or any program of Landmark has the characteristics of a cult." I am enclosing a copy of the Resolution adopted by the Board of Directors of CAN which reflects this Agreement.
(b) Dr. Margaret Singer, a well-known cult expert in the United States and author of the book "Cults in our Midst", stated in writing in May, 1997 that "I do not believe that either Landmark or The Landmark Forum is a cult or sect or meets the criteria of a cult or sect."
(c) Herbert Rosedale, the President of the Board of Directors of the American Family Foundation ("AFF"), a prominent anti-cult organization of long-standing in the United States, confirmed in writing on April 10, 1997 that AFF does not consider Landmark as a cult.
Moreover, Landmark currently has a lawsuit pending against Cynthia Kisser, the Executive Director of the original Cult Awareness Network, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, for defamation and related causes of action resulting from statements made and materials distributed which, among other things, allege or imply that Landmark and The Landmark Forum are a cult. This is to advise you that in her deposition taken in this lawsuit on May 15, 1995, Ms. Kisser testified under oath as follows:
"Q. Now, do you say that Landmark Education Corporation is a cult?
A. No."
A copy of the pertinent portions of Ms. Kisser's deposition is enclosed.
3. Retractions were published by major publications in response to Landmark's objections to their having erroneously referred to Landmark or The Landmark Forum as a cult. The publications were as follows:
(a) Self Magazine, a major magazine for women in the United States.
(b) Redbook Magazine, a major magazine for women in the United States.
(c) Guidepost, the publication of the American Counseling Association.
4. This is to advise you that Landmark and The Landmark Forum do not meet any of the following major characteristics of cults:
(a) The members are required to give over to the organization ownership of all or a substantial portion of their assets.
(b) The members are separated from their families and friends, often to the point of excluding any contact with such people.
(c) There is a theology or dogma or doctrine that the members are required to believe in and follow and in some cases worship.
(d) The members are restricted in their actions so as to no longer be involved in activities outside the cult.
People who participate in The Landmark Forum do not give over the ownership of their personal assets to Landmark other than payment of tuition for the program ($325). In contrast to a cult having its members cut themselves off from their families and friends, many people who have participated in The Landmark Forum have reported stronger relationships with their families, friends and work associates as one of the major results of their participation. There certainly is no communal living situation involved -- people participate in The Landmark Forum over three full days and one evening and return to their homes at the end of each part of The Landmark Forum and when the program is completed.
The Landmark Forum provides no theology or dogma or doctrine to believe in and follow, there is nothing to worship and there are no practices to repeat. In fact, many people who participated in The Landmark Forum have reported that their participation enhanced their own religious beliefs and practices.
In direct contrast to being encouraged not to be involved in outside activities, people who participate in The Landmark Forum are empowered to participate in their communities, organizations, and institutions. In fact, many thousands of people who participated in The Landmark Forum have reported that, on their own initiative, they have taken on projects that make a difference in their communities, organizations, churches and other institutions.
Landmark does not use coercive pressure or deception to get people to join. There is nothing in Landmark for people to join. Landmark offers The Landmark Forum and other programs to the public, and people pay tuition for the programs as they would for adult education programs offered at any other educational organization. Landmark has a strict policy that participation in The Landmark Forum and its other programs must be voluntary, and coercion is inconsistent with such policy.
C. Harm - As reflected in the letters included in the material enclosed in B, above, the facts are clear that The Landmark Forum and other Landmark programs are not damaging to people. In particular, I refer to the letter from Dr. Raymond Fowler which sets forth his personal opinion about The Forum based on his participation in The Forum and his 40 years as a psychologist. Dr. Fowler stated:
"I did not experience any personal sense of harm, danger, threat or coercion at any time and I saw no evidence that anyone else did."
Dr. Fowler also stated:
"I have talked to psychotherapists who encouraged certain of their patients to attend a Forum session when they felt they were ready to do so and they uniformly felt that the experience was non-harmful and perhaps encouraged insight."
D. Thought Reform - The facts are clear that The Landmark Forum and Landmark's other programs do not involve thought reform, mind control, brainwashing or anything that remotely resembles such techniques. The Landmark Forum does not involve any action that reforms a person's thoughts or controls a person's mind. The Landmark Forum does not tell participants what to think -- it empowers participants to think for themselves.
As evidence of this, I refer to the letter from Edward Lowell, M.D., included in the material enclosed in B, above. Dr. Lowell, a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry and licensed to practice medicine since 1955 in New Jersey, New York and California, in a letter dated November 14, 1996, stated the following:
"I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology since 1962 and have spent 39 years practicing general psychiatry and psychotherapy... My psychiatric training included a residency in a U.S. Army Hospital in 1955 during which time, in order to deal with American military men who were mentally manipulated by their Chinese captors, I was trained specifically about the technology and techniques of 'brainwashing', 'mind- control', and 'thought reform'.
I am familiar with The Landmark Forum and have personally experienced and examined closely the work and programs of Landmark. Furthermore, I have spoken professionally and personally to over two thousand people of all sorts: patients, neighbors, friends, relatives and medical and psychiatric colleagues about their actual personal experience with The Landmark Forum.... After my careful observation, I have seen nothing at all that would lead me to the conclusion that The Landmark Forum or any other Landmark program or Landmark itself does or even attempts to engage in any sort of brainwashing, thought reform, hypnosis or thought modification whatsoever."
E. Werner Erhard - Mr. Erhard created part of the technology that is utilized by Landmark in its programs. However, Mr. Erhard has never been a stockholder, officer, director or employee of Landmark and has never been involved in the management or operation of Landmark.
Nevertheless, given the close identification of Mr. Erhard with Landmark's programs in the public's mind, Landmark considers that any false statements regarding Mr. Erhard result in depicting Landmark and its programs in a false light.
1. There have been allegations that Mr. Erhard had been charged by the IRS with tax fraud. In fact, such allegations were false, and Mr. Erhard was successful in obtaining a $200,000 payment from the IRS in settlement of his lawsuit for the wrongful disclosure of tax information which was false. The false allegations were published in the media and the IRS spokesmen later admitted that statements attributed to them about Mr. Erhard's supposed tax liability were false. I am enclosing an article published in the September 12, 1996 edition of the Los Angeles Daily News reporting on the payment by the IRS to Mr. Erhard which makes clear that the charge of tax fraud was proved false.
2. There have been allegations that Mr. Erhard was abusive to his family. However, those allegations were later recanted. I am enclosing a copy of the article in the July 16, 1992 edition of the San Jose Mercury News regarding the lawsuit brought by one of Mr. Erhard's daughters against a San Jose Mercury News reporter for fraudulently promising her payment as incentive for her to make such false allegation to the media.
3. The publication of false statements and allegations in the media about Mr. Erhard were not isolated events. I am enclosing a copy of the article in the December 29, 1991 edition of the Los Angeles Times which describes in detail that Mr. Erhard had been the target of a long campaign conducted by the Church of Scientology in the media and elsewhere to damage his reputation and the reputation of the programs he created.
F. EST - The est Training was an educational program that ceased being offered to the public in December, 1984, more than 6 years prior to, and unrelated to, the establishment of Landmark. Landmark is not est, and Landmark's programs are not the est Training. Nevertheless, given the association of est with Landmark in the public's mind, Landmark considers that false statements regarding est result in depicting Landmark and its programs in a false light.
I am enclosing a recent article by Elie Sobel that appeared in Quest Magazine that, in my opinion, captures the spirit of what the overwhelming majority of people who took the est Training experienced.
I trust that you will act in a responsible manner and publish this letter, together with the enclosed materials, as part of your Web Site. I also trust your fundamental commitment to balance and objectivity outweighs any bias you have against Landmark or The Forum, and that you will act promptly to correct the impression that your Web Site lacks balance and objectivity. Landmark is prepared to finance any scanning of the enclosed materials for inclusion in your Web Site if that would make it easier to include these materials. If you have any questions with regard to the information or materials herein, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Art Schreiber
General Counsel and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Encls.