Unification Sermons and Talks

by Reverends Russell

America's Crisis: The Solution

by George Russell

It seems impossible to go a day without becoming confronted with the gruesome headlines of more and more malaise encroaching upon our nation. We have been drugged and drunken into violence and permissiveness, and in unbreakable partnership they rule our streets and families. Many of us are searching: walking the streets in daylight with lit lamps in search of an honest man, as did Diogenes of ancient Greece. Our institutions have become places of ossified bureaucracy, and our youths and families disoriented and scattered remnants of a hope that once was.

Perversion and licentiousness have become the daily bread of many. Our nation is locked in a vicious warp of selfish individualism conjoined with many other "isms"-among them: racism, consumerism and denominationalism. These together have been gnawing at the root of the foundations of our nation. If this continues at its present rate, our generation will be sure to witness a second complete collapse of a superpower nation.

The question now arises: who or what can rekindle vision and hope for our distraught nation? Where can we find the solution?

The real solution to the serious crisis that we are confronting as a nation does not lie in democratic liberalism or democratic conservatism. Both have run their courses, and in doing so, have swung our nation from one extreme to another. Today, we find fossils and sedimentation of both thought trends littering the urban and suburban lifestyles of our country. Based on liberalism, our nation has become awash in promiscuity and drug abuse, and as for conservatism, we have to a large extent polarized our country with the narrow-mindedness of fundamentalism, unable to appreciate what others have to offer.

The real solution to our nation's problems, and indeed to the world's, is a new revolution of thought and practice rooted in the vision of God-Godism. This thought system which is being proposed by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of Korea, founder of the Unification Church, is neither right-winged nor left-winged but is head-winged. It is a God-centered worldview for our time. It possesses the power to reconcile the liberalism and conservatism of our sick nation.

The power of Godism engenders the practice of true love and a renewed sense of freedom and responsibility. It seeks to restore our rightful place in the cosmos as true sons and daughters of one God who is the Universal Parent of all mankind. Godism acknowledges the God- centeredness of all relationships and the individual and collective purposes of each entity and being. It also embodies the spirit and power to restore the ideal of the family wherein man and woman are naturally complemented by their original nature and purpose-their offspring being the rightful lineage of their love and life.

On the higher dimensions of public life, such as in the religious, political and socio-economic arenas, for example, Godism will give birth to a renewed sense of common purpose. The religious traditions of the world will come to discover their common identity and shared heritage. Likewise, the universal principles and values of faith and love inherent in all the world's religions will become self-evident. The end result: harmony among the world's religions.

In politics, Godism as headwing thought will unite left and right and rechannel the energies of both to serve the broader purpose of our nation. The socio-economic arena will likewise experience the healing and restorative qualities of Godism. As we fully recognize, the society is essentially based on the state of families. If families are sick, this is mirrored in the society. The restoration of families, therefore, is an essential prerequisite for socio-economic reordering and restructuring.

The complexity and magnitude of the problems facing us today cannot be resolved by simplistic methods such as cutting, shifting or increasing of taxes, or spending. Nor can it be accomplished by economic, social or any other external maneuvering. A true solution can only emerge from a profound revolution of selfless love deep from within the heart of each individual and carried to the levels of family, society, nation and world.

What atheistic communism attempted to do for 70 years, was something of the former, based on a naive economic agenda and a revolutionary zeal steeped in violence. Communism was the culmination of historical philosophical materialism. It lacked the vital essence of the reality of God and a clear understanding of the true value and dignity of man. It was destined to reach its demise. Western idealism, however, came to find solace in the American revolution of the founding fathers of this country. For about two centuries our democracy was kept alive by the blessings that came with the God-inspired vision and dream to fulfill the American ideal. Today, we have been drained of this lifeblood through the invasion and internal corruption caused by consumerist materialism and perverted moral lifestyles and trends.

Our destiny-if we are unable to heed-is set parallel to that of atheistic communism and ancient Rome. The signs of this reality are obvious today-no elaboration needed. The light of the Judeo-Christian ethic that once made this nation truly great has been drastically dimmed, and its salt has lost much of its savor. A divided and morally wounded faith cannot heal a divided and morally wounded nation. Judeo- Christianity must be resurrected to a new level first.

The white blood cells of our nation are being overwhelmed, and the red cells are diseased. Thus, the diseases of apocalyptic proportion in our time. Our nation needs a doctor and a powerful medicine to remedy our sick state.

The essential reason for the collapse of communism and that of ancient Rome was one of moral and spiritual decay. It has been well said that those who have not learned from the mistakes of history are condemned to repeat them. Atheistic communism did not learn from ancient Rome. Have we learned from either?

Rev. Sun Myung Moon's idea of Godism is indeed a worthwhile consideration to resurrect our nation's floundering moral lifestyle and state of spiritual disorientation. Godism exists to be the completion of the ideal of the American revolution, and is the "Abel- type" "ism" of our time. And, as stated above, it possesses the power to restore and reconcile. Rev. Moon himself has had an unchanging love for this nation. He is absolutely convinced that God has called this nation to be the leader of nations for the sake of the consummation of His will. This (to a certain degree) is attested by the fact that our country at present stands as the undisputed superpower of the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Rev. Moon has founded hundreds of projects nationally to serve this country, and has poured billions of dollars into this nations to fund them. His sole motive is to help resurrect this country back on the road of its original calling. In conclusion, he has given instead of taken from this country. However, the general response to him has been most horrendous. He has met with unprecedented misunderstanding, persecution and character assassination far beyond that of any foreigner who has landed on this nation's shores. Today, Rev. Moon persists and continues to prosper; it is American which is declining. If this country is able to regain its spiritual and moral senses, and in so doing, listens to what he has to offer, maybe we will stand a good chance of entering the 21st century with our nation's soul intact.

 

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