Speeches of Hyo Jin Moon 2006-2008
Delivered Sunday at Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown, New York
Hyo Jin Moon Speaks on Family Values, Page 132

Some episodes may contain explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.

 

Family Values

August 13,2006

Please sit down.

Good morning. (Good morning.) The world is kind of chaotic. I don't think there is any overnight solution. So, let's just try to talk about something that we can focus on at our level.

Why do you think democracy is popular? Because I guess it guarantees you more options, choices that you can make. And at same time, it guarantees you the least amount of obtrusion from authority, right? That's pretty much the attraction. That's the value when it comes to the democratic situation. But I think the main problem in dealing with the democratic society many times is that we fail to recognize certain realities. That's the case, not just with democracy, but with any kind of society whether it's a theocracy or even a dictatorship, there is a certain structure that is real. And so basically all this just grows out of the fact that individuals can't live alone. No man is an island, right?

So, you group together in certain packs; in other words, loosely based tribes based on their occupation. Something like that. You can break it down into, say, just interest in general. But most likely, it's going to be some kind of occupation-based circumstance that attracts people together. Especially when you look at democratic society, it's more apparent. You will belong to some form of tribe one way or another. Whether you are involved with the people in your same occupation, or your job is with a certain institution or with some company, you are going to have something like a tribe. Even within a company, for instance like in America, there is management and there is also a union. Even within a so-called corporate kind of family setting, there is still a division of tribal reality.

So, we're all involved in that kind of reality, even just for our livelihood sake. We're involved in this whether we like it or not. That's reality.

And many times there's conflict because of self-interest. Sometimes you have a hostile rivalry, but even a normal situation can be extremely competitive, right? This happens everywhere. You know, you get a job somewhere making some house appliances and you are competing with other companies who do the same thing—you're going to have some form of rivalry simply because of normal competitive situations. And rivalry becomes a tribal kind of situation.

Many times it becomes a kind of a pathetic tribal rivalry. That's the problem that creates pretty much all conflict, and any kind of disturbance. If it expands and exists within society it is due to this kind of rivalry that arises within this kind of tribal expectation—or to put it bluntly, self-interest.

That is the basic premise of pretty much any kind of conflict. If it exists, it arises from pretty much that kind of reality that exists in democratic situations. In order to restore that kind of democratic reality with conflict in it, and especially because it happens so often and so easily, we have to put in a certain emphasis. We have to shift the emphasis to something else. We have to shift it from individual to family values. I think that's the key to changing or reforming or restoring democracy if that is doable. It has to be done through that theme. It needs that kind of orientation. Only through that, when you set premise on that value, that's the only realistic way in which you can actually transform democracy.

You can start with children, the value of children, the protection of the child. You can start getting more and more people involved, even politicians. We can get politicians involved in protecting that reality which is, for instance, like I just said, protection of a child's situation.

There are so many crazy people out there. There are so many threats that hamper the proper rearing of children. And that is something that everybody can relate to, and that is something that inevitably can move out to greater family values.

But you have to start with something. That approach has to be something practical in nature. And that's something that we can do. Ultimately we need to have that kind of value system, and that standard has to be rectified clearly. Otherwise, you can't really transform democracy and you can never change the situation of this kind of hostile rivalry. Why is that? It's because if you don't take the focus and the emphasis off the individual, you can never address what creates the conflict to begin with, which is self-interest. That has to be addressed. Only then can we actually expect to do something in this world.

You know Father says—you know, Father wants us to bring this nation from selfishness to unselfishness, right? Well, how are you going to go about achieving that? How is that actually doable? How can we actually do that in our lives? We care, try, but we have to have some form of direction and basic strategy. And I feel the best strategy is to put greater emphasis on family values. Start with things that everybody can relate to. There's a tremendous threat out there. If you have a family, your children are under threat, whether kids open up the internet or they literally open the door and walk outside—there’s tremendous threat.

Why? Because there is no absolute value put on the family. You do have absolute value given to individual rights, individual existence—to a point, I guess—but there is no absolute value put on, given to, the family.

That's how we can restore democracy. When we can bring that absolute standard, make the society accept it and actually implement it—start practically according to law and move to absolute to family. Then we can start to see many things change. That way, we leave no room for those crazy people who use God's name to blow you up. Their excuse is that America's just an immoral country. Its culture is corrupt and it's destroying the world, the future, our children, and blah, blah. It makes sense to a point. If you think about it, it does make sense in a way. But killing people is not the way to go about changing stuff and making a difference. If you see something wrong, that's not the way to solve the problem. But there are people using God's name doing that every day and that's tragic, and we're going to see this for a while. It's not going to disappear overnight.

So, how can we make things change? I think that's the first step. We need to first recognize that we need to have absolute values and family values. We need to protect the family reality as best we can. We need an absolute standard, but it doesn't have to be maximum. It can start with something minimum, just above individuality, you know what I'm saying?

Take a step at a time. It's going to take some time. You can't really expect a band-aid solution or overnight solution because it doesn't work that way. Society doesn't change in that way. Even you don't change that way. So, it's going to take time. But what's missing is that issue. We have to try, based on understanding that. We have to recognize what's missing and what's important. We have to put an emphasis on that, and of course, putting a fix on it, ultimately in the end. Then perhaps we can do something about changing the world. Then it's possible.

I believe we have to try to put that kind of value system into the book somehow in the end for the sake of America. For the sake of democratic nations all around the world. Because only then you can guarantee the basic microcosmic society in itself. If you are a hypocrite to yourself then you're a hypocrite. You are not going to have an ideal situation. So, it's necessary to have that kind of focus.

Of course, we also need to address our individual self-interests. And we have to understand what's wrong, what those things are, recognize them and remedy them. One thing at a time. One tribe at a time.

And I want to encourage young people to go into creative stuff. Get into medicine or whatever, engineering, all sorts of engineering. It's your own. Something creative. And be a preacher, too. That's a very creative vocation, you know. A little bit, well, it's difficult. Pain in the butt, as you know. Something, something. Because I feel that natural change can also come based on what Father is teaching, blessing, and through children like you, second-generation. That's going to bring about the change. When you actually venture into all those different quote-unquote 'tribes,’ you are going to make the difference.

And it's not going to be pretentious. You are what you are. That's about it. And you are going to shine because you believe in something, right? I hope so.

Only you know yourself truly. And ultimately, only you can answer to yourself and be responsible for what you turn out to be, right? Can't blame someone else for what you are in the end, right? Whether right or wrong.

So, there you go. It's doable. Because we put emphasis on blessing and we have a lot of children like you. And that's the key. And we are going to create a great model in every which way and in every which 'tribal reality' that is out there in democratic society. And you are going to become a living model. That's the way to do it. That's the only way to do it, realistically speaking. So, it's going to take some time. It's not going to happen overnight. And the key is you, especially young people.

If your parents have sacrificed to be here, to rear you as best they can, and send you off to the upper society to have an understanding, a greater understanding, to become what you want to be—find your true calling. Well, that's about it. You are going to make the difference later through your own hands, that's about it. And that's the future. That's the key. You can come up with all sorts of strategies but you have to have some sense of permanence. And that's within that situation.

Okay? (Yes.) All right, it's short. That's it. That's all I have to say today.

I'll see you two weeks from now. Okay? Not next week but a week after, okay? Okay.