Sun Myung Moon
November 28, 1997
The Third World Congress of the Youth Federation for World Peace
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington, DC, USA
Photo date and location unknown
Esteemed President of the Youth Federation for World Peace, honored Co-Chairman Richard Rubenstein, guests from all parts of the world, and ladies and gentlemen:
I am truly happy that we are able to hold the Third World Congress of the Youth Federation for World Peace in Washington, DC, the capital of the United States, together with representatives from more than one hundred thirty countries. It is particularly meaningful that this gathering is part of the World Culture and Sports Festival III, the centerpiece of which is the Blessing ceremony for 3.6 million couples.
This is partly because you pure-hearted men and women from around the world, transcending boundaries of race, religion and nationality, have been chosen to form the main pillar of the Blessing ceremony. In addition, it is because, ultimately, you young people are the ones who have to put into practice the results of all the conferences held during this festival in preparation for the twenty-first century. I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to you Youth Federation for World Peace members for dedicating your heart and soul in all areas and levels of society for the sake of achieving world peace, and for the contributions you have made toward that end.
I would particularly like to thank Heaven and praise you for the fact that your activities, along with those of World Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, the Women’s Federation for World Peace, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and other organizations, have provided a foundation for the worldwide realization of the true family ideal. These activities have led to the surprising result that we have exceeded the original Blessing goal of 3.6 million couples by tenfold, or thirty-six million couples, and we have gone even beyond that number by several million couples. I hope that you members of the YFWP will work with even greater enthusiasm to stand at the forefront of the Blessing event as it is expanded in the future to three hundred sixty million couples.
Young people are the central figures in the transition period of history
Today we stand on the threshold of the twenty-first century. Already, people in many parts of the world have begun the countdown to celebrations that will mark the beginning of the twenty-first century. As they look forward to the new century, their hearts are filled with fervent hope that this will be a time for a new world that is better than anything humanity has experienced at any time in the past, a world in which we are able to establish God’s new family values of absolute true love.
In the history of the world, humanity’s strong desire for an ideal of true love has been the motivating force for change. Because you young people pursue the lofty ideal of establishing a true family and possess a greater capability for realizing this ideal than anyone else, you are undoubtedly the initiators and principal actors in this time of major historical change. For this reason, you are the symbols of hope for people who are opening the gate to the new century, with the earnest desire that it will lead to the establishment of new, ideal families.
During the course of history, there have been many literary works and recorded accounts praising young people and their roles and special characteristics. I think, however, that the roles and responsibilities of young people in the family, nation and world have rarely been of such critical importance as they are today, most notably in terms of a revolution to create ideal families. Thus, I think it is very timely and appropriate that the discussions of this conference will focus on the theme, “Youth for the True Family, Nation and World.”
Today, families, nations, and even the world are facing serious dilemmas. The greater the development of industry and technology around the world and the greater the number of conveniences that people enjoy, the more erosion we find taking place in the family institution that forms the foundation of our lives.
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the divorce rate in the United States increased threefold between 1970 and 1990, to the point where each year one couple in every six has a divorce. Across the United States, thirty percent of children are raised in single-parent families. Even further, we see that the decadent, end-of-culture phenomenon of same-sex marriage is becoming more prevalent.
There are reports that as many as forty percent of American girls between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years are sexually active. It is shocking to see that the rate of suicide among young people has increased by three hundred percent during the past thirty years. The breakdown of the family is cited as the most critical issue facing modem society. On the national level, too, we see the limits of political power in the face of drugs, violence, AIDS, chronic economic imbalances, and other social problems that are accumulating everywhere.
The world today continues to agonize over issues affecting all of humanity, such as the threat of war and terrorism, discord between races, antagonism among religious groups, and destruction of the environment. We cannot ignore the continuing reality that many regions of the world are afflicted with hunger and disease. If we evaluate these realities, the outcome of all the ideas and activities of humankind during the past twenty centuries, the result would be a failing grade. Thus all families, nations, and the entire world are urgently seeking change.
As we enter the new century, it is imperative that we place priority on developing an awareness of our responsibility to bring about changes in the family, nation and world. Our task is to establish for youth true families and true nations, so that we may harness the winds of change for the creation of a true world. Members of the Youth Federation for World Peace, what is the one means by which we can renew ourselves, our families, our nations and our world, and change the flow of history?
As we stand on the threshold of the twenty-first century, the philosophy of building a true family, true nation and true world is opening up a new, historic horizon as the fundamental principle for world peace. Rev. Moon has been teaching and exemplifying this philosophy.
The first stage of true love is the true family
Originally, God’s ideal of creation sprang from sacrificial true love that is capable of giving and forgetting and then giving and forgetting again. All of God’s creative effort is sacrificial, in that it involves the investment of His own power. Because the investment is motivated by the power of love, however, it returns to God in the form of joy that is tens of thousands of times greater.
If parents, motivated by true love, invest in and sacrifice themselves infinitely for their children, then the children will feel infinite gratitude for having received this true love, and the parents will experience great joy in place of their sacrifice. In this way, the power of sacrificial true love initiates giving and receiving that establishes an eternal relationship of joy and peace in the true family, true nation and true world. It is here that the ideal world of eternal life is manifested.
On the other hand, the family, nation or world that lacks such true love is nothing more than an empty shell, and it will degenerate and breed distrust, animosity and immorality. It is in the family that our pure, true love grows and is perfected. The true family is the initial stage in which the different types of love, between true parents, true husbands and wives, true children and true brothers and sisters, are put into practice and grow together to reach fruition.
The true family is the fundamental nucleus of a peaceful world, for it is here that we learn about God’s true love through the love of true parents. Also, it is here that, through the true love of true brothers and sisters, we receive training to acquire a universal love for the true nation, true world and all humanity.
Moreover, the true family is the basic unit linking history. Through true love being handed down from parent to child, the past, present and future generations are linked together by a consistent value system.
Just as we cannot expect infertile land to bear bountiful fruit, we cannot expect a family that has been destroyed to produce a person who will function appropriately in society and the world. Thus, each of you young people in this age have to first become the embodiment of true love and the principal actors in building the foundation for a true family culture and true family tradition.
Beyond the true family, it is in the context of a nation that young people can put their ideals and energies into practice. For this reason, the strength of a particular country is to be measured not on the basis of its political, economic, or military might, or by its cultural influence, but by weighing the temperament of that country’s young people and their sense of patriotic loyalty. Young people are the sprout and if the sprout wilts, then the tree has no future. However, what is the reality of young people around the world today?
The ultimate problems faced by all countries are those concerning their young people. Political, economic, social and environmental issues can be addressed through means such as institutional improvements and government funding. Laws, military power and economic strength, however, cannot solve the problems of youth. These problems cannot be resolved by coercion. The only way is for young people to be responsible for themselves. For that to happen, they have to lead sacrificial lives and become manifestations of true love, thereby establishing their positions as masters of true love.
True love is the starting point of all ideals and its practice will continue eternally. It will serve young people as a force more powerful than life itself. When young people acquire a new outlook on their country that is guided by true love, then that country will discover new possibilities for advancement. When diverse groups in the nation adopt an attitude based on true love, they will be able to rise above the confines of their competing interests and establish a society of cooperation, harmony and progress.
True love is the center
The primary force that moves a country forward arises from true love in the form of sacrificial and patriotic loyalty. Among the numerous national heroes whom we respect today, there is not one who did not exemplify a life of patriotic sacrifice rooted in true love.
Furthermore, in today’s world, there are many challenges arising from differences due to region, race, religion, culture, customs, language and citizenship that we have to overcome to bring about a united world of peace. If we view the world from the perspective of the Creator of all things in the universe, that is, through God’s eyes of true love, then we can see that the world is one entity, despite differences of race, religion, language, philosophy, and so forth.
When young people dedicate themselves to sacrifice and service based on God’s true love, then they can start to solve the world’s problems such as poverty and hunger. In addition, they can begin to heal the wounds caused by differences in economic standards and feelings of animosity and hatred arising from different historical experiences.
In a time when everything needs to be renewed, those who cannot renew themselves will decline and ultimately perish. A seed that fails to sprout at the appropriate time decays. When the new morning comes, we have to put on a new set of clothes; when the new season arrives, we have to arrange a new living environment for ourselves. What is most important here is that we first need to renew ourselves, as true love involves loving even those who are difficult to love. From this definition, we can acquire a clear sense of direction to surmount the challenges of enmity and hostility. The philosophical tension between freedom and equality also can be resolved in the environment of true love.
Within the philosophy of true love, it is also possible to reconcile the historical conflict between God and humanity, as well as conflicts among people. In manifesting true love, God gives and gives and then forgets that Fie has given. His only desire is to continue in the act of giving. It is this true love that will enable us to overcome selfishness and move forward into a world of harmony and prosperity.
The logic of true love is that the family sacrifices for the country, the country sacrifices for the world, and the world sacrifices for the sake of God. This perspective enables us to look beyond tribalism and national self-interest and to set our sights on a world of eternal peace.
We need to establish a true youth culture
More than at any other time in history, the problems we face today compel us to consider all people of the world as sharing a common fate. Problems that arise in any particular region or between any two countries can immediately affect the world’s balance of power and its economies. As a result of advances in communications technology, hours, minutes and sometimes only seconds separate the world’s population.
Even at this moment, we can communicate our thoughts to the entire world simultaneously through the Internet. Through the hundreds of communications satellites in space, the world has already been brought together as one community, allowing the worldwide population to live together as one universal family. The power and philosophy of true love is a master key that can comprehensively unlock the problems of all individuals, families and nations of the world, thus establishing universal peace on every level. It is you, the youth of true love, who are to be the principal actors in putting such true love into practice.
Purity, freshness, vigor, strength, courage, challenge, progress, sacrifice, endurance, ideals, hope; these are all words of blessing that are bestowed especially on true youth. These words manifest their real value for the first time when true youth practice true love in the family, nation and world. Furthermore, true youth represent the substantiation of true hope. Only those who present a new vision and direction and put it into practice can become the principal actors of a new age; this is an insight that is well established in history.
The marriage Blessing movement is a universal cultural revolution Through a movement for absolute love and absolute purity, you have to establish a true youth culture based on true love. You must always remember that for you, the true youth who have to protect the family with true love, the greatest enemies are the social trends of moral degradation, including sexual decadence and self-indulgence. Our supreme task is to establish true families that will be the foundations of true love. Our results in this task will determine whether humanity will survive or be destroyed.
From this standpoint, the movement for the future Blessing of three hundred sixty million couples will be a global cultural revolution that the world has to accomplish. The very survival of humanity is at stake. This event will establish the beginning of a new moral epoch never before seen in human history.
I firmly believe that when you, who are the true youth, become the embodiments of true love and the principal actors in building true families, true nations and a true world, the coming twenty-first century will unfold to produce a future of hope and vision.
Thus, to accomplish the international Blessing of 360 million couples in the future, I would like to ask that you return to your countries, create supporting organizations, and enthusiastically work toward this goal.
I pray that God’s blessings may be with you. Thank you very much.