Sun Myung Moon
December 14, 1983
Victory over Communism rallies in eight Korean cities
Masan Indoor Stadium, Masan, Korea
Photo date and location unknown
Patriots, Victory over Communism members, guests from home and abroad who have filled the stadium:
It is truly a delight to see you again after such a long time. We were shocked and grief-stricken by the downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 this past September and the bombing in Rangoon, Burma, in October. I heard the shocking news while I was overseas, and, like most people from our homeland, I could not suppress my grief and great indignation.
Yet, despite this tremendous shock, the people of this nation were not disheartened. We passed through this ordeal. I felt reassured at that time, as I rediscovered in our nation's people the traditional spirit that rises like a phoenix as we overcame the numerous crises that have befallen this land. The title of the speech I would like to share with you on this occasion is "The Resolve of the World and the Korean People."
The crisis in the world today
First I would like to talk about the crisis we face today. The world today, simply put, is a world in great confusion. All societies today, in the East and the West, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, in developed and developing nations, have fallen ill. Not a day goes by without another case of injustice, corruption, murder, robbery, exploitation, oppression and violence. These incidents increase with each passing day.
On the international level, strife, conflict, rebellion and wars have broken out within and between nations, peoples and religions. The downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, and the Rangoon and Beirut incidents, are only the latest in a history of brutal massacres.
People in the developed nations enjoy a life of abundance, while countless people in developing nations are grappling with hunger, and the number of people dying of starvation is increasing. Amid this confusion and horror, what is particularly deplorable is the fact that religions are not functioning properly and instead are fighting among themselves.
I point to examples such as the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, the clashes between Judaism and Islam, the infighting between Sunni and Shia in Iraq and Iran, and the denominational conflicts within Protestantism. Religions are supposed to prevent conflict and lead people to reconciliation based on the spirit of human fellowship, but instead they have given in to conflict.
As a result the world has become lawless, and humanity is drowning in a sea of violence, carnage, destruction and brutality. The confusion is intensified due to the barbaric schemes concocted by communists. Consequently, human culture now finds itself in crisis. It seems like a hopeless situation.
The cause of confusion and the limits of our ability to resolve it
What exactly is the fundamental cause of this global confusion? It is the total destruction of traditional values and the loss of the standards that show us how to live an upright life. Hence, it has become difficult to discern what is good, what is true and what is just.
Standards of value differ depending on nation, organization and personal preference. Furthermore, with the emergence of communism, all traditional concepts of morality are being destroyed. What can this situation possibly mean? It means that democracy, communism, religion and philosophy can no longer resolve the problems of the world.
Democracy originally emerged with the aim of solving all the difficult problems through human rights, equality and majority vote. However, today the collapse of value systems is becoming increasingly severe, even as societies are becoming more democratic. This reduces our confidence in democracy to resolve problems in society and in the world.
Communism, on the other hand, emerged under the banner of creating a socialist society through revolution, thereby eliminating the structural contradictions within capitalistic society, liberating the laborers and farmers, and removing all social evils. Today, however, all communist nations, beginning with the Soviet Union, are showing even more extreme structural contradictions than those found in capitalist nations and are committing more severe social evils.
Meanwhile, religions habitually engage in conflicts, thereby relinquishing their responsibility to provide spiritual guidance to humanity. At the same time, irregularities and corruption continue to spread within religious institutions. Philosophy, for its part, has become overly conceptual and divorced from reality. It is not providing any assistance in solving actual problems.
The limitations of democracy, communism, religion and philosophy in the face of social and global problems are plain to see. Humanity is no longer able to rely on any teaching, religion or philosophy to end the confusion in this world. I am saying that if this continues, civilization will inevitably destroy itself.
A solution based on the proposition of God's existence
Is there a genuine solution that can bring order to this global chaos? Should humanity resign itself and simply wait for the day of destruction? We never can allow that to happen. A fundamental solution to these problems does exist. That solution is based on the proposition that God, the Absolute Being, exists. It is because the world that the absolute God seeks to realize on earth is a world of peace, a world free from confusion.
Without affirming the existence of God and His purpose behind creation, a resolution of the problems of today's world is impossible. To put it another way, it is because people have been ignorant of God's existence and His purpose of creation that the current world of chaos has come about.
The world that God sought to realize on earth is a true ideal, a world overflowing with freedom, peace and happiness. With this ideal in His heart, God has been sorrowful to this day, all the while seeking us on earth, even as we have continued to seek the ideal society despite the pain and chaos. The ideal that God cherishes, and which He anxiously wishes to give us, and the ideal of human beings, who continue to seek it, are the same. Thus, God and humankind can be reunited. Once that happens, this vision will take shape immediately. Yet, people have suffered for a long time because this reunion between God and humankind in every field of endeavor has not taken place.
Unificationism and the Unification movement
Seeing first-hand the pain and suffering of human life, for a very long time I have devoted myself to find a way to save humankind. This led me on a path of meditation and anguished searching for the truth. It was a thorny path that led me through intense spiritual battles.
At the end of indescribable hardships, I finally was able to meet the living God. From this encounter I realized that He is not a God of glory but an anguished Parent seeking to realize His purpose of creation on earth. I also discovered that He is the light of truth and love that illuminates the heavenly way and embraces all things of creation.
When I came in contact with God's boundless truth and love, I came to see the profound truth that God has cherished deeply. It is a truth that reveals the relationship between God, humankind and the universe. Based on this truth, I saw that the problems of the world can be solved and an ideal society can be realized. I am referring to the teachings of Unificationism, which explain the basic principles of the Unification movement that I am advancing globally.
Ever since my encounter with God, I have upheld God's truth. To this day I have been advancing the Unification movement in order to manifest an ideal world, which is the dream shared by God and humankind. Based on my experiences, I can confirm that Unificationism is indeed the key to the solution of our problems and the pivotal point in bringing order out of chaos.
Many young men and women in the prime of their lives have encountered this teaching. They had agonized over the challenging problems of life, including social issues, religious questions and historical problems, and had given up hope. This teaching rejuvenated them, giving them hope, joy and energy. It is like trees and grass parched by a drought being resuscitated by a long-awaited rain.
The Unification movement still is enduring deliberate persecution by members of the establishment. Yet, these young men and women are following in my footsteps with the conviction that the Unification movement is the only way to reach a fundamental resolution of the world's problems, and their numbers are increasing rapidly.
Recently many prominent and eminent scholars from around the world have begun to join this movement. Even the general public is gradually coming to realize that Unificationism provides the proper way to resolve the various problems that beset democracy, communism, religion and philosophy.
Communist prejudice
As the Unification movement expands globally, communism has become its greatest obstacle. Communism espouses a philosophy based on dialectical materialism and a materialistic view of history. Democracy does not have an articulated philosophy for opposing it. Although democracy is able to accept Unification teachings, communism categorically rejects them out of its narrow-mindedness and commitment to a class-based view of reality.
Because of its viewpoint, communists have used every means possible to hinder and persecute the Unification movement that I lead. Through false propaganda, vicious slander, printed materials and rallies, communists have mounted their mudslinging and persecution against my group and me. They have mobilized politicians, journalists, students, religious people, cultural figures and even housewives in promoting their false propaganda against the Unification movement. Detailed research data on the slander and persecution of the Unification movement by the Communist Party in Japan will soon be published as a book.
The methods they employ to persecute our members include assault, kidnapping, violent abduction, illegal confinement in complete isolation, forced conversion, brainwashing, intimidation, forced admittance into mental hospitals, and the administration of psychotropic drugs. It has been discovered through meticulous investigation that communist cadres have been behind the organizations and individuals that oppose and persecute me. They manipulate them, directly and indirectly, to persecute the Unification movement.
Why is communism so intent on opposing the Unification movement that I lead? It is because Unificationism makes God abundantly clear to people; it even allows them to experience God. It thereby completely exposes the fallacy of atheistic communism.
The devil avoids the sun and plays tricks on people in the dark of night. Likewise, communists have avoided God while acting as if they were God in the world of darkness. Whenever God's light of truth shines through Unification teachings, it exposes the devil's identity. This is why the communists adamantly oppose the Unification movement. In reality, there have been quite a few instances in which communists who studied Unificationism joined the Unification movement, after realizing that communism is false.
Despite communism's opposition and persecution, the Unification movement is becoming stronger and is growing at a remarkable speed, spreading throughout the world. Why has this been possible? It is because God protects and helps us. Unificationism is an expression of God's love, and the Unification movement is exactly what God wants. Through this movement God is trying to eliminate all forms of contradiction and social evils, in order to realize one, united and true society. In religious terms, I am referring to the kingdom of God on earth.
The goal of the Unification movement
I now would like to explain in detail the parameters of the goal of the Unification movement, which I am spearheading. As I have already explained, Unificationism is a teaching that expresses God's truth and love. Its primary goal is to resolve all social and global problems, completely eradicate communism from the earth, and establish a world of true freedom, peace and prosperity. It aims to realize a world under a vision of one great family, based on a new value system of ethics and morality. It seeks to manifest a united world based on the principles of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universally shared values, free of all forms of oppression, exploitation, discrimination and social evils. This is its ultimate goal.
In a word, its ultimate goal is to realize a true, ideal society. The way to realize this society is not through violence and struggle, as dictated by communism; rather it is through a peaceful and idealistic spiritual movement based on truth and love. All of this is based on God's Will. The goal of the Unification movement is the ultimate goal that God seeks to fulfill.
Confrontation between good and evil on the Korean Peninsula
The location of the Republic of Korea, on the Korean Peninsula, places it in a position of destiny to fight and overcome communism. Once it can prevail in its struggle against communism, the Republic of Korea will play an active role in the world. On the other hand, if it is defeated by communism it may disappear without a trace. The Cambodian genocide after the loss of Vietnam is a good example of the tragic fate that could await South Korea.
The Republic of Korea must not only overcome North Korea, it must overcome communism throughout the world. North Korea, though it occupies only the northern part of the peninsula, represents global communism on the evil side. South Korea, which stands confronting North Korea, represents global democracy on the side of goodness. North Korea and South Korea stand at the forefront of the communist world and democratic world, respectively, with the Military Demarcation Line between them. Their very existence is at stake in this fateful and historic showdown between the two worlds.
North Korea stands on the side of evil, while South Korea stands on the side of good. North Korea is under the control of the devil, while South Korea stands together with God. In this way, the Korean Peninsula is a historic region where good and evil have come into sharp contrast. When good defeats evil in this region, this entire worldwide evil will perish. Throughout providential history God has been waiting eagerly for this kind of outcome. It can happen when the people of Korea and all the free people of this world come together in complete victory.
In conclusion, I would like to talk about the resolve of the Korean people. The confrontation between North and South Korea, focusing on this truce line, is an all-out confrontation between these two systems. Therefore, South Korea must surpass North Korea, not only in terms of national power but also in terms of philosophy. The ultimate outcome of an all-out war depends on the ideological battle. The Vietnam War demonstrated this point very well. Despite its military power, the United States lost the ideological battle and ultimately was defeated in Vietnam.
In the ideological battle, South Korea is currently at a severe disadvantage. Communism has disguised itself skillfully by infiltrating religious circles and university campuses. Underground organizations run by communist moles are taking root in farm villages and cities. In response to this, our people must come together in solidarity. Professors, religious leaders and government officials must quickly take responsibility for ideological education on university campuses, in religious circles and with the general public. To do so effectively, they must arm themselves quickly with the theory of Victory over Communism, which refutes the communist theory. In addition, they have to uncover communist infiltration and shut down the networks of communist moles. Only then can we prevail in the ideological battle. This is the only way, realistically, that we can stop the North's invasion of the South.
The urgent need for the Victory over Communism campaign
Since North Korea represents the entire communist world, you have to be mindful of the fact that other communist nations, beginning with the Soviet Union, stand behind North Korea. These nations that have ideological ties to North Korea share the goal of world domination. Therefore, in times of emergency North Korea will be able to receive military and economic support from these nations, especially from the Soviet Union and China.
However, this is not the case for South Korea. We cannot expect that free nations will come to our aid in times of need, as they did during the Korean War. This is because the democratic world does not have a philosophical vision or a commitment to the world as a single community. Also, the circumstances today are completely different from the time of the Korean War. This is because the free nations are not aligned with the principle of living for the sake of the world. They mainly pursue their own national interests, they are becoming increasingly liberal, and their governments and policies can change with each election.
Because I knew this weakness of the free world, I traversed Japan, America, Europe, Central and South America, and other parts of the world to rally young people, scholars, journalists and politicians, and introduce them to the transnational philosophy of Victory over Communism. In each nation I devoted all my energy in creating a base to disseminate the Victory over Communism teaching to the general public. This activity serves to protect the Republic of Korea, which is placed in a historic, providential and global confrontation with communism. In particular, I have been successful in establishing Victory over Communism activists in localities throughout the United States and Central and South America, through the CAUSA movement. I also have built a strong foundation for Victory over Communism among the Japanese people.
This foundation will expand rapidly in Japan and the United States. In Korea I called on the International Federation for Victory over Communism to create a nationwide organization with leaders in each village and precinct. In this way we were able to form strong partnerships and ideological bonds between Korea, Japan and the United States on a civic rather than a political level. This foundation will generate immediate mutual support in times of emergency.
In the future I intend to guide the members of the Victory over Communism movements in these three nations, which represent the world, to extend their solidarity through sisterhood ties, mutual exchanges and education. South Korea, which is under the direct threat of North Korea, still has a great shortage of leaders in the area of Victory over Communism. Each village and precinct needs to have more than one hundred Victory over Communism activists. Once they are in place, there will be approximately seven million activists. That will enable Korea to gain international stature as the leading nation in the fight against communism.
Therefore, whenever possible, the fathers and mothers in each village and precinct should become pillars of the Victory over Communism movement. Your elder and younger siblings and even your husband or wife ought to become a member of the International Federation for Victory over Communism. When that happens, neighborhood meetings will become neighborhood meetings for Victory over Communism, the civil defense corps will be a Victory over Communism civil defense corps, and the New Village Movement will be a Victory over Communism New Village Movement. In this way, a strong foundation to defeat communism will be established in this nation, building a solid foundation for national security. Though politicians change, the formation of this grassroots foundation will never be interrupted.
Nonetheless, we must not be satisfied with that. We need to connect our home-based, grassroots foundation with the Victory over Communism foundations in other countries. In so doing, we can form an international united front under the International Federation for Victory over Communism. When this international front triumphs over communism throughout the world, we finally can liberate North Korea.
Formation of a front line through the International Federation for Victory over Communism
I returned to Korea at this time to perform this very task. I returned here in order to connect the chapters of the Victory over Communism movement in each nation to Korea and form a powerful international populist movement.
The reason we are holding a Victory over Communism rally here today is to urge the people of this nation to arm themselves quickly with the Victory over Communism teaching, both to save this nation and to help form an international front line through the International Federation for Victory over Communism.
I have suffered much persecution to get to this place today. The persecution was global, not just in one nation. Now the time has come for the people of this nation to open their eyes and see the results, namely, the foundation I have created. You need to embrace this great truth of God, which was born in Korea. This teaching does not belong to me; rather, it is God's teaching and, at the same time, a principle that belongs to you and all humankind.
I welcome the seventy representatives of the Professors World Peace Academy from seventy nations who are here today. They are eminent scholars from around the world who support the Unification movement and the Victory over Communism movement. They have come to Korea at this time to support this rally and to strengthen the ties between the Victory over Communism members in Korea and in other nations.
When communism is completely eradicated from this world, the long-cherished desire of God and dream of humankind, a world of peace and freedom, shall be established on earth. We will also achieve the reunification of the homeland, which is the cherished hope of the Korean people.
For the sake of that day let all of us, all the people of this nation, unite together as one. Let us firmly resolve to overcome communism. Let us rise together, in one accord with the people of the world, to march forward and bring down communism!
I pray that God's protection and blessings will be upon the Republic of Korea and upon all your families.
Thank you.