This was submitted by Martha Ruggieri, Atlanta, Region 4. It written by her guest, a student at Morehouse College, the day after he attended the speech on "True Parents and the Completed Testament Age" given by Nan Sook Moon on March 24th at Rush Memorial Congregational Church at Morehouse College part of the 100-campus tour. Morehouse College is a prestigious black college, the alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Littered around the campus of Morehouse College were several notices for students to attend some type of program entitled "True Parents". I wondered to myself, what is this? I was very eager to find out what this program was going to be about. Also, there was an opportunity for students to win a research grant so this was a little extra incentive to attend.
This event took place on last Thursday. It had been raining continuously throughout the day. The program was to begin at 7:00 p.m., but due to the weather, I almost decided not to attend. Eventually, I convinced myself to go. The program was held in a small Congregational church on Braley street. As I entered the church doors, I noticed that many people were present, especially students. Within the next ten minutes, more students began to arrive. The congregational area became congested with people. I could not believe why so many students had chosen to come to this event. Logically reasoning, I figured most of the students were there for perhaps the same reason as me. That was to find out what this true parent thing was all about or maybe pick up a $500 dollar research grant.
Right off hand, I do nor recall the speakers name. But, I can assure you that her message was very powerful. She basically spoke on how the family is the key element in promoting morality and values in a society. She went on to use biblical text to support her thesis of the role of the family. Many problems such as violence in the community, drug and alcohol problems, and much of the social decay that we are experiencing today is due to the failing of the family. Generations of the same family must be willing to work together to achieve a common goal. That goal is to make the world a better place.
The speaker continued to elaborate on the idea that every member of the family had a particular role in creating this "True Family". This unity of family in theory would bring about many positive changes inside the community and also in the world. The concepts that she was espousing seemed very digestible to me and the audience seemed to also agree with what the speaker was saying. From anthropological perspective, I believe of a common interest and a common background. The common interest being, human striving to achieve or provide a state of well being that of Christianity, but transcend these simple man created divisions. The "True Parent" according to the speaker would create a heaven on earth. This was basically the idea that the speaker was trying to convey to the audience.
Not only could this extended family change their social situation, but also their political and economic situation. When the speaker spoke of this it brought to my mind some of the readings we did on the resourcefulness of the extended family. Can they still serve a useful purpose? The speaker appeared to believe that the extended family could play a positive role in the correcting of some of the many social, political, and economic dilemmas that we face in the world today. This philosophy from my perspectives tends to promote teamwork and also provide for the good of the group, not individuals.
The speaker really believed that the world can exist peacefully. This method she truly believed would promote this environment. I really enjoyed the subject matter. Many of the issues that she raised were pertinent and will sooner or later have to be addressed by people all over the world, not only Americans, but everyone.