Waco

An enclopedia describes the famous incident at Waco, Texas this way: "In 1993 a deadly shootout near Waco between federal officers and a religious cult headed by David Koresh led to a 51-day siege that ended in a blaze that killed 83 people." This is an example of the superficial treatment religion gets by the media.  The real truth is that the media often are not religious people and simply cannot understand religion when they see it.  There are evil people in some religious communities, just as there are evil people in every type organization.  Anti-Moon writers and activists like to point out the few horror stories and then lump all small religious groups into the category of dangerous and abusive.  People are abused in every organization.  No group is perfect.  Most religious groups are not "dangerous." One of the most dramatic events surrounding a small religious commune was what happened in Waco.  Because of the media presentation who constantly interview the anti-Moon writers, even I felt that this group was dangerous.  The truth seems to be very different.

A couple made a documentary film that was nominated for the Oscars that one person described as: "An explosive documentary film. Waco: The Rules of Engagement is the first full length work to present the complete picture of the tragic events outside of Waco, Texas that resulted in the killing of four federal agents and the gassing and fiery deaths of 76 men, women and children of the Branch Davidian religious sect."

The movie reviewers Siskel and Ebert praised the film saying: "GENE SISKEL: The Unites States Congress investigates the debacle that four years ago killed 76 men, women, and children who belonged to the Branch Davidian religious sect based in Waco, Texas in a new documentary called "Waco," which clearly attempts to establish that the agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms lied to Congress and the American people, and needlessly harassed and ultimately murdered religious worshippers."

"ROGER EBERT: Thumbs way up for me, too. And you know, although it does have a particular point of view, it tries to be fair."

"And what it amounts to here is that the American people were sold a bill of goods about the Branch Davidians that wasn't necessarily true, that these people were demonized..."

"ROGER: But of course, at the time there was no information available about the other side! And now, when you see this film, what's interesting is if you're looking for people who are unbalanced zealots..."

"GENE: Right."

"ROGER: ...you don't find them among the Branch Davidians, you find them among the FBI and the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; those are the people in this movie who deserve to be feared, I think."

"GENE: Well, but what I'm saying is that when we do these religious cult stories, when the media does these stories, then they better do a little bit harder reporting. I think that's one of the things you take out."

"ROGER: Yeah, well, they should stay away from the trigger words like "cult" and "compound." How about calling it a "religious group and their church?" That would have changed the entire perception of what went on."

"GENE: Because to me the stunner is who was in that compound. Weren't those..."

"ROGER: Sensible..."

"GENE: Seemed like it."

"ROGER: ...sincere people who were not under the hypnotic leadership..."

"GENE: This is not Jim Jones, and the film makes the Guyana story, repeatedly makes that comment."

"GENE: Two thumbs up for the shocking documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement," a special motion picture."

"In brief, the Davidians are a branch (offshoot sect) of the Seventh Day Adventist church. The Davidians first broke away in the mid-1930s, and they eventually formed a religious commune in east Texas."

Roger Ebert wrote in his newspaper review:

"Like many news-drenched Americans, I paid only casual attention to the standoff at Waco, Texas, between the Branch Davidians and two agencies of the federal government. I came away with the vague impression that the ``cult,'' as it was always styled, was a group of gun-toting crackpots, that they killed several U.S. agents, refused to negotiate and finally shot themselves and burned down their ``compound'' after the feds tried to end the siege peacefully with tear gas."

"Watching William Gazecki's remarkable documentary "Waco: The Rules of Engagement,'' I am more inclined to use the words "religion'' than "cult,'' and "church center'' than "compound.'' Yes, the Branch Davidians had some strange beliefs, but no weirder than those held by many other religions. And it is pretty clear, on the basis of this film, that the original raid was staged as a publicity stunt, and the final raid was a government riot--a tragedy caused by uniformed boys with toys."

"If the film is to be believed, the Branch Davidians were a harmless if controversial group of religious zealots, their beliefs stretching back many decades, who were singled out for attention by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for offenses, real or contrived, involving the possession of firearms--which is far from illegal in Texas."

"Whatever happened at Waco, these facts remain: It is not against the law to hold irregular religious beliefs. It is not illegal to hold and trade firearms. It is legal to defend your own home against armed assault, if that assault is illegal. It is impossible to see this film without reflecting that the federal government, from the top down, treated the Branch Davidians as if those rights did not apply."

I remember watching some of the tv coverage of this event.  They would interview so-called anti-cult experts like Rick Ross.  These people only fuel the flame of hysteria and are partly responsible for the over reaction people have to what is non-conformist.  They are the true rabble rousers.

According to their definition of "mind control" President Clinton is a master of abuse to women.  He has damaged the lives of so many women who were caught up in his charisma and later hate him and even sue him.  He was even impeached because he lied under oath about his deviant lifestyle.  This is a fallen world.  The problem we have is to discern what is truly evil and prosecute it, and leave the rest alone.  President Clinton should have gone to jail for his behavior and Rev. Moon should not have gone to jail.  Rev. Moon is a force for good.  President Clinton is a force for evil.  Anti-Moon people cannot discern what is the baby and what is the bathwater.  They are on the side of Satan.  They are the ones who break up families.  They are ones who psychologically hurt people.  God's way is to give his truth through minorities.  God's way is to give maximum freedom for what anti-Moon people look upon as nut cases.  They do not respect people.  They are the truly arrogant people who have nothing better to do than bother people.  They create an atmosphere of book burnings.  As crazy as anti-Moon and anti-religious people think the lunatic fringe should be actively given "exit couseling," it is from those kinds of people that the greatest  truths have always come.  They should be acting the opposite and be respectful for the preciousness of freedom.  They should get on tv and say the opposite.  They should educate people that Jesus was seen as the most dangerous radical in history.  Even today, he is outlawed in many parts of the world.  His teachings in the Bible are banned in many countries.  Mankind should have an attitude of tolerance.  Anti-Moon people are bigots in love with their narrow status quo view of life.  They are not freedom fighters.  They incite people to kidnap and make laws against non conformists who don't fit in to the norm.

Anti-Moon people are experts at being stupid.  They are not just wasting their time; they are hurting people far more than helping them.  They are teaching people to look at how God works in this world in the wrong way.  Mankind should honor the Thoreau's who go off to Walden Pond and write about hearing a "different drummer."  Perhaps those who died at Waco would be alive today if the media had done their homework and if sick people like Rick Ross and Steve Hassan had not helped to incite those who have tanks with their "expert" advice.

They should take some responsiblity for the death of those at Waco.  And they will understand someday the damage to lives they have caused because they kept people away from the most precious ideology this world will ever hear, the Divine Principle. They take the life saving words of Rev. Moon, the very truth that will set this world free of evil, and twist them like communists do with words to turn people away from the truth that will give them happiness.  Anti-Moon writers are the epitome of those in 1984 who rewrite history. Words are powerful.  Satan uses people like Rick Ross, Steve Hassan and famous tv journalists like Tom Brokaw of NBC news to give mankind the big lie.  They are on the side of evil that always takes words and mangles them so badly and confuses people so much that the result is that the greatest man who has ever lived is put in jail in Danbury, Ct.  Martin Luther King would have been a dangerous radical to Steve Hassan if he had been an adult back then.  Listening to them talk about the meaningless phrase "coercive persuasion" is like listening to a socialist/feminist talk about "equality."  The result is that anti-Moon people end us with a society where there uses tremendous coercion just like socialist/feminists create a society that has less equality than those societies they write against have.

But anti-Moon people and socialists/feminists are on a roll.  They are on their crusade for freedom.  There will always be a Cain and Abel split in mankind until everyone accepts the Divine Principle.  Until that day we have a fight on our hands.  St. Paul wrote about how we are to fight the likes of Steve Hassan, Margaret Singer, and the Underwood family.  We have to write books to match their diabolical books.  I am joining in the conversation by writing this book.  If you learn from this book that the anti-Moon writers are the bad guys and the Moon people are the good guys, please help.  Please do something.  Even if you just put my book in the library, that will mean a lot.  Let's have my book and other true books next to the sick books of the anti-religious crowd.  They argue they are the good guys.  They are not.  They have the right to print their books.  I am for freedom of speech.  But they must not dominate the debate.  The truth must be heard.  Please join with me on a crusade to match their crusade.  They distort the teachings and lifestyle of the Unification Church and many other groups.  Let's expose them.