You and I Can Change the World

In Jin Moon
December 30, 2011

"Welcome to the third Winter Gala of CARP here at the beautiful Manhattan Center. All of you look so beautiful, and I'm sure our True Parents would be delighted to be in our midst, but they are leaving for Korea this evening and send you their greetings and their love. Our True Parents have not just inspired us but have inspired many thousands of people around the world, and our True Father, even into 90 years of age, is working hard day and night, always thinking about how we can create peace on earth.

"Our international President, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon is on his way back from North Korea. He went there as a representative of True Parents to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our True Parents' meeting with Kim Il Sung to encourage a peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. Now you know that Kim Jong Il has passed away at the age of 69, and the power has been transferred to his younger son, Kim Jong Un. At this important time in history where a great deal of fear has been generated because of skirmishes between North and South Korea, we have to understand that our True Parents, as God's representatives and as the leaders who have a prophetic understanding of history, know the work that needs to be done.

"When our International President returned from commemorating this 20th anniversary, True Parents sent him right back to North Korea to be at the funeral of Kim Jong Il and encourage the North Korean government to seek a peaceful reunification of the two Koreas. Our True Parents very much prayed for Korea and for the United States to exercise its power in a way that will engender a new millennium of peace.

"When our True Parents think about out CARP students, they see you as the generation of peace. We have to understand that as dignified human beings, we need to use our lives wisely to raise better generations to come. We have to realize that everything comes from God. No matter how different our backgrounds may be, we all come from a common parent. We are all eternal sons and daughters of God, in that we are not just put into this earth to become dust in the wind. Each of us has a purpose and the responsibility to live our life with compassion, empathy and altruism.

"Victoria Roomet and Seijin Tranberg are just two out of the wonderful men and women around the world who are a part of the CARP family. So when we think about CARP, we need to think about what we're going to do with our four years in college to be that embodiment of Generation Peace. We have a faith-breaking issue, and more than 4,300 brothers and sisters in Japan have been abducted and abused over the last three decades. When I became the Senior Pastor and the CEO of HSA-UWC, I together with my brothers, the International President Rev. Hyung Jin Moon and the Chairman of the Tongil Foundation, Kook Jin Moon, decided to do our best to liberate our brothers and sisters in Japan.

Japan's constitution guarantees religious freedom. That freedom must exist for our Unificationists as well. But Japan's government has been neglecting the pleas of our 4,300 brothers and sisters. Often people ask, "What does America have to do with this issue?" America has everything to do with it, because many of our couples are married to Japanese brothers and sisters. So if we only think about ourselves and do not fight for our brothers and sisters' simple right to be legitimate citizens who can exercise their right to religious freedom, how can we let Japan call itself a country that is governed by its constitution? These are the questions we've been asking the good men and women on Capitol Hill.

"The incredible thing about Seijin is that he decided that he's not going to wait for his Senior Pastor to solve this problem – he's going to be an active participant in putting an end to the faith-breaking taking place in Japan. Here a member of the younger generation is bringing this issue onto his campus, getting his fellow colleagues to understand what is taking place, saying, 'Enough is enough, we are all children of God, we all should live as one family.' If we cannot be proud Unificationists, what good are we in college? Are we just going to bury ourselves in our books for four years? Why should we just be good students? Why can't we be more? Why can't we be conscientious citizens of the United States? You and I can change the world. One person like Seijin can change the consciousness of his university and now he's waking up his brothers and sisters around the United States. Even though I talk to men and women on Capitol Hill, it takes young people like you to make a difference. I'm proud to say that we now have a coalition of congressmen who will be traveling with us to Japan in January to put the right kind of pressure on the Japanese government.

"Use your time in college to find your calling in life, but while you are in this process, please be made aware that there are many things you can do while on campus. You can shake up American by becoming that agent of change, by being involved. Young men and women of this great country, think about who you are and what you're going to do, but at the same time remember that we are not just an American family, but we are a worldwide family. Be grateful in your hearts for God and True Parents, because without them, none of us would be standing here under the roof of the Manhattan Center."