Speeches of Hyo Jin Moon 2006-2008
Delivered Sunday at Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown, New York
Hyo Jin Moon Speaks on Propaganda, Page 161

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

Propaganda

October 1,2006

Be seated.

How are you doing? Good to see you.

Today's topic is "Propaganda."

Is it necessary? Propaganda has been around ever since people started to group together. Leaders and kings have abused it throughout history including for the sake of organized religion—it's very useful for them. Also, it's necessary at the same time as something they need to promote their faith.

Pretty much that is the pattern of what we know today, and what we see all the time on television. You can see infomercials and commercials. The need comes because we do need to propagate the message, whether it's to sell cereal or a message from God.

Having said that, the first thing we have to think about is how we go about applying the concept of propaganda for commercialization or to the purpose of propagating the faith. There are many countries in the world, first of all, right? Every country has a distinction that they try to put forth. They do that based on their law and on the unique way they proscribe and actually implement the law. The way that they accept that is how they are as a nation.

When you talk about law you have to go to the beginning and ask God, "Did You need law?" Did God need law when He was by Himself? He was almighty. So, going back to the pre-creation period when God was still God. He was almighty and omnipotent and omnipresent, you have to ask Him, "Did You need law?" I'm sure that He didn't.

Why would you need law when you're by yourself, especially when you're almighty, omnipotent, and omnipresent? Was it necessary? So, I guess the answer can only be that in the purpose of creation as we know it and explain it, the law exists because God wanted an object. The law exists for the sake of the object, not for one's self.

Of course, you know God was almighty and he wanted to create something. Being a creator is the ultimate that the creator can be. That's the miracle I guess. That's why we exist. Unfortunately, we had a difficult time understanding the value of the law, but that is the essence.

So, when you talk about the concept of law which defines us as a group, a nation, or a world, or even a universe, ultimately you have to accept that concept of what God intended. God's intention ultimately by having law is to create a family, something that reflects Him and that has volition, consciousness and can reflect what He is. That is the essence.

From that we have to start trying actually to create something, something that we can showcase to the world, because ultimately we have to compete and win, and that won't be automatic. Even if we have our own laws by having them and being who we are, we have to reveal ourselves to the world and through that revelation people must choose what we show. That is restoration. Something that is greater and has greater promise, greater than yesterday, greater than today.

Making that kind of statement is very challenging. How do you go about doing that? Do you think it would be easier to just shine the limelight on a few individuals? I don't think that will work. Not today. Throughout history propaganda has been abused in so many ways. Mostly it's a kind of psychological warfare tactic. Propaganda really doesn't have a positive impact. It has a kind of negative connotation. We have to try to spread positive propaganda about our movement Systematically.

You have to constantly prove something in today's world—a world where there are so many issues and so many questions. If you can't handle the volume of all the stuff people put out, stuff that literally can go around the world in a few seconds, it's going to be very difficult. What's the best way if you're going to use that concept? We have to use it somehow too, because others use it, even to sell cereal? It's better that we increase the standing of everybody in the group. That's the challenge. You can invite people from third-world countries who want to live better. There are still a lot of people out there. I don't like traveling, but if you do travel there are a lot of places where the people live miserably. In certain places, because of physical hardship and the challenges these people have to face, it's easy to bring them to a workshop and convert them to our movement. Why, because they have nothing to lose.

I know that feeling. If you have nothing to lose then you'll do anything. Are we ready to prepare them, take care of them step-by-step, to raise them to the position where we can say, "Hey! These are the kind of guys we've got. Look at their quality. They're better than you."

How do you go from there to there? Does it happen automatically? You pray a lot and things change? It doesn't work that way. As much as we need to disseminate the faith, disseminate properly the information, we have to increase the quality of the faithful. That is the most important thing, if you are going to use propaganda. In the end that is the only way it will work in today's world. There is no other way.

I wish that I could believe that by going to Father's speeches, and I do go to those, it could change people's lives. But usually it doesn't happen. It is just a condition. I'm trying to be honest with you. There is only one True Father. It's not going to happen, but he is going to do what he is going to do. So be it. Make that commitment. More power to you. That's his prerogative, and there is only one man like him. Right? When others start to do that, that's a problem. That's a serious problem. Why the hell do you want to be that famous? Why the hell do you want to be the focal point? Why? Why do you want to be that important? Why the hell do you use propaganda? This is not the 1920s. You must be crazy. You have to be beyond stupid using imagery, stupid sentiments, and crazy stuff. It's ridiculous. Even a teenager will laugh at that in today's society, never mind grown-up people who have been through that nonsense all throughout their lives.

Everybody sitting here, you know in today's world and in today's media-driven world, we are a victim of that stuff one way or the.other. We can't even use what is obvious for education. Sometimes we blatantly just use it for ourselves. That's ridiculous. It makes us look so stupid. That's shocking. That's shocking to me. That has to go away because it's just absolutely humiliating. I believe it's better to inspire and uplift. Make other people the star, not yourself.

If you have that capacity—if you have that realization or enlightened heart, you should do that because that is better, and I have something to give that is also great, much better than just a commercial. Even if you approach the whole thing cynically and still want self-promotion that's still an even better way to self-promote.

There are certain things that are basic, that are fundamentally basic and if we don't practice it, well nothing is going to change. What you see is what you get.

Have you ever thought of the relationship between desires and self control? You think about your desire a lot, right? Sometimes it can be a problem. If we have a problem dealing with our desires then what good is freedom? Freedom can be a problem if you have uncontrollable desires. What good is freedom if people living "in freedom" can't control their lives?

If it's uncontrollable, they'll probably kill each other in the end. What good is freedom? Why do you need freedom for the people when they can't control their desires?

It's that kind of basic stuff. Unless we can address those kinds of basic questions, all the ideal stuff we think and talk about really doesn't mean anything. You can talk about it till the cows come home I guess. It isn't going to happen until you have all sorts of stuff in your head that you want. You have to know how to control stuff—you had better know why you want that stuff. Think about this week, okay?

You're free to do so in America. That's why it's silly in the end. I live here, I have freedom, but you have no absolutes. Of course you have a lot of laws and regulations, a lot of secondary absolutes. I call man-made laws secondary absolutes. God-made laws like simple physics are primary absolutes. We make our laws because we need to live gregariously. If we didn't have any laws we would probably kill each other or something. There are layers and layers of complicated laws. They will absolutely go after you if you break one of them. It's absolute—trust me! They'll penalize you in an absolute manner. When they come after you it's absolute.

Think about what you want to be and how we want to present ourselves to the world and try to do something to help each other. (Hyo Jin nim is in tears.) Do something meaningful, something from the heart. Don't do it because someone is watching you or because of your pride. Do it because you are made of something and it's just the right thing to do .... (Hyo Jin nim's words become hard to understand because he is in Tears.)

Do you know the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey in Buddha's hand? That's how you feel. That's what you are in the end and you know it.

You will die. You want to leave a lasting propaganda? Die well and let somebody else say, "He died well." That's the way to do it. Anyway, something like that.

Take care. I'll see you.