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Reaching Out to the Affluent West

Hyo Jin Moon May 22, 1994


Thank you all for attending this inauguration to welcome Jin Hun Moon and Sung Am Moon. I am truly hopeful for the future because not only spiritually and symbolically is Father claiming the time for the second generation, but he is now giving us substantial authority to be the leaders of the world. More than ever, greater authority is coming to the second generation.


It is very difficult in any situation when you are in the position of having to nurture. I am sure that many of you have children and you know that nurturing a child is a very difficult thing. Suppose you have nurtured a child until a certain point of maturity and he has the potential to take over the care of the household, but a time comes when that child has to be let go of. Maybe he has to go off to school or he may be drafted; the separation isn't easy. In many ways CARP has been nurturing many of our human resources. Because of Father's worldwide activities and his establishment of so many different organizations, many of the human resources that CARP raised up had to be re-distributed.


Within any organization the redistribution of assets for the betterment of the whole is very important and has to be done. Father demanded that many good young people from CARP be redistributed, so we had to sacrifice in many ways. This is the kind of tradition that CARP has been under from its inception. However, that tradition is now changing because of the time. I feel great hope in the future because we can now focus again upon all the human resources that we had previously been distributing outward and re-direct them inward, so that we may focus upon the development of this particular organization and its function. This makes me feel that in many ways it is truly and substantially the second generation's time. It isn't symbolic anymore and this causes me to feel very hopeful and inspired.


My vice presidents have been sharing certain things with you such as the importance of mass communication. CARP has that foundation. The Manhattan Center is CARP's organization. As long as Father gives me the responsibility for this particular organization, I will use whatever resources are available to me for that purpose. I realize you are aware that America is in need of a different method of persuasion, a different method of communication. We really need a better way to deliver our message to this country. It is my belief that mass communication, be it through video three-dimensional animation, music or video presentations in general, is the right way to go for the future.


It is not so easy to find converts in a society where the need is focused upon assets. However, it is very easy to find converts in a society where the need is focused upon survival or the basic necessities of life. It is very important to find the need of any particular society. The reason that it has been so difficult to witness to American people since the 1960s is that this is an affluent society and many of the middle class reached a point where a great deal of abundance and wealth was available to them. Therefore the basic need was no longer focused upon basic necessities, but rather upon assets.


We are living in a physical world with a physical body and this is the one thing that screams out the most. When this physical body is yearning and seeking external stimulation, it is very difficult to convert people to the religious perspective. The reason we are experiencing such a tremendous response in Russia is because that country has only just opened up. Their needs are focused upon the basic necessities of life and reaching out towards greater things. That is why it is happening on such a large scale in Russia. We are investing the same resources but the conclusion is so different. The reason for this is the difference in the need of the people of these two societies. That is why it is so difficult for us to make it happen in America.


How can we break through to people whose need is based on assets? That is why we have to get into the kind of things that are able to reach the emotions. Now, even in America, the cycle is turning and it is becoming again more like the 1960s again. More and more people are losing jobs, becoming distrustful of governmental authority and thinking more and more about the basic things of survival. When your focus is upon survival, you are no longer thinking about assets but rather about having food on the table and a good life without fear of being harmed. That level of desire is occurring now on a national basis. This causes me to feel that this is the time when we can really accomplish something nationally.


We really need to ascertain who is capable of accomplishing certain things and begin creating an organization that can produce products that are able to stimulate those who still are seeking external stimulation. At the same time we can also work with those who are basically striving to live a better life. On top of the organization that exists now we can try to create a structure that will be able to produce products through which we can start to communicate with the people who are seeking satisfaction through all of life's trappings.