The understanding that fundamental rights and freedoms are endowed to every human being by the Creator has endured. Just as Lincoln hearkened to the powerful assertions in the Declaration of Independence, so too did Martin Luther King Jr. a century later during the height of the Civil Rights movement in his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.  They recognized the self-evident truth of God’s sovereignty as the source of all fundamental rights and freedoms; that regardless of human failures and contradictions in America’s history, surely, that idea will eventually prevail.

Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon
Global Peace Convention 2021

In 1630, a group of very determined people decided to move to the “New World” of the North American continent in search of a place to self-consciously build a “city upon a hill.” These famous lines from a sermon in 1630 by John Winthrop have since shaped American self-understanding. The idea originally came from Jesus’ Sermon on a Mount, encouraging followers to see themselves as models for others. And even before its official founding in 1776, this ideal that has shaped America in different ways through the years.

The American experiment started in the Old World, with a group dubbed the “Puritans” struggled with the local British government for their right to believe and worship as they saw fit. When they could no longer do so, they fled to the more religiously tolerant Netherlands, only to feel that the overly permissive social climate was detrimental to their spiritual lives.

For example, some scholars suggest that the first Puritan colony’s rules for self-governance, the Mayflower Compact, “undoubtedly played a role in future colonists seeking permanent independence from British rule and shaping the nation that eventually became the United States of America.”

The text from the Mayflower Compact underscores how central God was in the establishment of those first colonies:

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic…

Later, the American Revolutionary War was fought against the British colonizers with the understanding that it was their God-given right to challenge the authorities at the time. The seminal U.S. Declaration of Independence laid out the case for their separation from the British Crown in the idea that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The basis of these “Rights” was laid squarely in the idea of a transcendent Creator. Because these rights are endowed by the Creator there was no institution that could take them away.

All men, as created beings, all were afforded “separate and equal station.” In short, no man had the right to rule over another except by the freely given consent of the governed.

This understanding that fundamental rights and freedoms are endowed to every human being by the Creator continued to guide and shape American political life throughout history. For example, on his way to the capital as the newly elected U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln stated that “I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.” Even while he wished to avoid war and bloodshed, Lincoln felt it was his duty to protect the ideals of the Declaration, not only for the current generation of Americans but for “the world, for all future time.” He expressed his understanding that America existed not just for its own sake but as a model for the world and all future generations.

Roughly a century later, Martin Luther King Jr. saw himself furthering “God’s will” to ensure that America lived up to its promises. In his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, he proclaimed, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Both Lincoln and King recognized the self-evident truth of God’s sovereignty as the source of all fundamental rights and freedoms; that regardless of human failures and contradictions in America’s history, surely, that idea will eventually prevail. Both men worked to further this dream, giving up their lives in that process.

All this has led to what people have dubbed “American exceptionalism,” and whatever the case, America, unlike most nations in the world, was founded on the ideal of building a model of what a nation could and should be.

Today, we can honor the sacrifices of the people who came before us by advancing and even expanding that same dream for America into in one which the whole world could – together – live in peace and harmony as One Family Under God.

At its founding, the United States was dubbed a “great experiment.” Where most nations were formed out of hundreds or thousands of years of common history, language, culture, etc., the United States showed that it was possible for people from different backgrounds to come together and build a nation on the idea that we are “all created equal.”

At the time, the country was unique in the world, borne out of an effort to build a society based on “the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God,” or self-evident, universal principles and values. This is what allowed to bring together people from different histories, cultures, races, religions around the world to become “out of many, one.”

Many had doubts about the feasibility of such a cause at the time. Yet today, nearly two and a half centuries years since the July 4th Declaration of Independence in 1776, America still stands as a symbol of our God-given rights and freedoms.

In trying times, the people of our country need to look back to those founding ideals together.  The ideals can be found in the stories, symbols, and songs of the nation. These point back to what we hold most dear and binds us together in common cause. With these lessons in mind, we take time to reflect on the national anthem of the United States of America.

 

The Star-Spangled Banner Lyrics

By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

***

On July 4th, we take time to reflect on the lessons of the “great experiment” we are all building together in America today.

President Biden’s meeting with the South Korean President in late May 2021 has drawn renewed international interest in the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Not long before the Biden-Kim meeting, the virtual International Forum on One Korea (IFOK) in February 2021 convened experts from both ROK and the U.S. to assess the current relations of the two nations as well as make recommendations on the next steps to addressing the long-standing division of the peninsula and North Korea.

In a report of the proceedings, Yonhap News Agency highlighted two top experts’ recommendations for the Biden administration.

Both Robert Gallucci, former U.S. nuclear negotiator, and Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, broached the topic of human rights in North Korea as critical for any forward movement. Cha recommended using a set of principles from which to re-open negotiations, including protection of basic human rights.

The One Korea International Forum and other efforts of the One Korean Global Campaign reminds us of the importance of having a strategic and principled framework for any engagement with North Korea.

There are plans for a similar virtual forum later on in August.

Read Yonhap’s article on the International Forum for One Korea virtual conference here.

To find more news and information about IFOK, click here.

Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon has long spoken on the importance of the media in global affairs. His father, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, also worked to hold media conferences around the world for decades before many understood the influence that the media has over both global conflict and development.

In 2012, Dr. Moon was the keynote speaker at a media ethics conference held in Paraguay. In it, Dr. Moon encouraged leaders in the media to use a moral, ethical framework to guide the way the media would conduct itself.

He noted:

Self-governing nations need well informed, self-governing citizens and institutions. To that end the press should remain free to inform. It cannot be controlled or limited by special interests. However, we must not forget that with freedom comes responsibility. When responsibility is ignored, freedom dissolves into license, which solicits constraints for order. 

These words are particularly salient as we face a crisis of trust and confidence in media-related institutions around the world.

The media can be an integral part of building back trust in leaders and institutions through efforts to enact responsible, non-partisan reporting practices and policies. It can also push for more transparency and accountability in regard to local policies and programs.

Today, Dr. Moon’s words at the conference remain relevant as we work to navigate what is being called the “new normal”:

Times of great change bring both threats and opportunities. To meet them, we have to think beyond old ways. We must grasp a new vision for the future, and develop a new spirit of leadership that can match the demands of this emerging new era, steering it away from the shoals of conflict and decline, toward a world of peace and prosperity for all people, everywhere.

As we move forward, it is time to consider the moral and innovative leadership framework to realign priorities and goals, mitigate conflict, increase cooperation, and address the many challenges we face today as a global community.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Action for Korea United: 2012-2021

The impact of our work through Action for Korea United (AKU) and the One Korea Global Campaign has begun to gain traction, not only on the peninsula but across the globe. What started off as small Unification concerts have since become a catalyst for a new genre within Korean pop music. The movement has engaged top K-pop stars, composers, producers in Korea and abroad to reach out to millions of enthusiastic K-pop fans through our One K Global Concerts held in the U.S., Korea and the Philippines. These have also been broadcast by major media companies such as KBS and SBS.

Moreover, the international expert forums, summits, conferences, youth exchanges, service programs and social media campaigns have turned the tide on what used to be viewed as an “impossibility”. Today, experts and lay people alike no longer talk about “if” or “how”; rather, all these efforts have instead begun to generate energy, excitement and significant partnerships in pursuit of a peaceful Korean reunification.

The many forums and conferences, particularly the economic forums, have inspired other think tanks and institutions to take up the issue from a variety of angles and perspectives. AKU has also ventured into cultural exchanges with Koreans throughout the world through the One K Korean Arts Festival, with a network of over 140,000 member artists.

This work has inspired the production of a Korean Dream documentary film as well as public art murals to raise awareness about and inspire conversations around the Korean Dream.  A one million member-strong association of retired police officers have taken the Dream with them on Korean Dream tours, investigating the Korean legacy as it has traveled to different parts of the world. Youth Assemblies and service projects have inspired Korean youth to take up the call to “bring benefit to all humanity” by serving their brothers and sisters of different nations, cultures, religions, etc.

All of these cultural programs and events are creating a new kind of shared consciousness in the Korean people and changing the cultural landscape, instilling a new sense of destiny, adventure and purpose.

In 2019, this energy and spirit was on full display to commemorate Korean Liberation Day at the KINTEX Convention Center in Seoul with over 16,000 AKU activist partners. It was there that participants took up the spirit of the Korean Independence Movement of 1919, to move forward together to take up the call to finish the work of the ancestors to create a “free, independent, united” One Korea.

Then 2020 came along and the global Coronavirus pandemic upended the entire global order. Yet, in many ways, the lockdowns and shutdowns transformed and advanced Korean reunification work, particularly in terms of global partnerships. Previously, much of the work happened offline and in-person. Despite the many advantages of these kinds of forums and meetings, they were always limited by time and space. Simply put, it was difficult to coordinate and bring together both the foremost experts and simultaneously engage the wider global audience. But the pandemic pushed everyone into the 21st century, where all became required to utilize the many advanced communications technologies to their fullest extent.

Thanks to this and other developments, the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), a leading member of the AKU coalition was able to begin a series of online forums in 2020.

On February 24th of 2021, GPF convened the International Forum on One Korea as an online Congressional Roundtable and Forum. This brought together the world’s top experts on Korea to discuss options for a policy framework in terms of Korean reunification for the new Biden Administration. The bipartisan agreement on a basic framework based on fundamental human rights and freedom was quite notable considering the divisive nature of politics today.

During the forum, the Hon. Tae-Yong Cho, a National Assemblyman of the Republic of Korea and a member of the People Power Party noted the many significant, bipartisan agreements that have come about in terms of Korean reunification in both the U.S. as well as South Korea:

Last November, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, the US Congress adopted a bipartisan resolution affirming the importance of the US-ROK alliance that shares such values as liberal democracy, a market economy, human rights, and the rule of law.

The ROK National Assembly also adopted a bipartisan resolution, […] which emphasizes common values including resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, maintenance of a strong combined defense posture, a free democratic market economy, and human rights and the rule of law.

With increased clarity on “what kind of Korean unification” and participation from a higher level, multi-national actors as well as experts, leaders, influencers, and everyday citizens working in their different spheres of influence, the Korean Dream is beginning to take shape in the minds and the hearts of the people.

“The global pandemic is disrupting not only the social and working lives of individuals and communities but also relationships between nations. Governments are stretched to meet their domestic challenges. Vulnerabilities in the global economy and supply chain have been exposed. There will likely be significant political as well as economic ramifications forcing re-evaluations of old models, while at the same time opening up new opportunities.” —Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon (International Forum on One Korea, August 2020)

The Global Peace Foundation has been at the forefront of developing a platform to advance a comprehensive approach to Korean reunification. Its work is largely based on a framework presented in Dr. Hyun Jin Moon’s national bestselling book, Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea. Based on the ideals, shared values, and history of the Korean people, the framework presents a vision of a free and principled unified Korea that advances regional peace and security, honor human rights, and promotes shared prosperity.

The 2020 International Forum on One Korea virtual forums, co-costed by partners like the One Korea Foundation, Blue Banner, Action for Korea United, and Alliance for Korea United – USA, has a dialogue on a broad range of issues, from denuclearization, human rights, regional relations, and citizen engagement.

On November 20, 2020, experts addressed the dynamic relations between U.S., China, and South Korea, “Free and Unified Korea: Challenges and Opportunities amid the Dynamic U.S.-China Relations.” The open dialogue presented divergent assessments of the roles of the United States and China in resolving the global security threats posed by the North Korean regime during a virtual forum,

Convened by the Global Peace Foundation, Action for Korea United, and the One Korea Foundation, the forum addressed the outsized roles of China and the United States in regard to North Korea’s nuclear program, advancing economic development, and securing human rights on the Korean peninsula.

The following article from Global Peace Foundation summarizes highlights from that discussion.

---

‘Maximum Pressure’ U.S. Policy

Addressing the forum from Washington, Joseph Bosco, a national security consultant and former China Country Director in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, said North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons program has bedeviled U.S. administrations for decades. “Bilateral negotiations, multilateral negotiations, agreed frameworks, six-party talks, imposition of sanctions, lifting of sanctions, threats, offers of economic incentives—all foundered in frustration and futility.”

Bosco said that the “maximum pressure” campaign initiated by the Trump administration, comprised of stepped-up international sanctions, the threat of military attack, and exposure of human rights atrocities, and the prospect of regime change in North Korea persuaded Kim Jong Un to rethink North Korea’s provocative behavior. Yet just as Trump and Kim agreed to meet in the first-ever U.S.-DPRK summit in Singapore, Chinese President Xi summoned Kim to Beijing for a series of meetings, after which the North Korean position and rhetoric hardened. The follow-up Hanoi summit in February 2019 foundered without even a joint statement. 

China and Xi’s intervention scuttled the opportunity for progress, Bosco said, adding that China had been involved in North Korea’s initial efforts to obtain nuclear materials. The North’s nuclear program provided a “distraction” that enabled China to play the role of the “essential partner” in restraining North Korea, which it had no real intention of doing.

Bosco said it was time to return to a maximum pressure campaign, with additional sanctions on China. “The world needs to realize that if the actions don’t change, regimes need to change.”

Cato Institute analyst Doug Bandow said that the objective of a unified Korea began in 1945, with North Korea leader Kim Il Sung seeking to unify the peninsula “on his own terms” through military force. Yet Kim Jong Un is different from father and grandfather, he said, with a greater concern for economic development. 

“A major concern is a new cold war between the U.S. and China,” Bandow said. “Diplomatic contact is not a reward [for good behavior] but a necessary condition of engagement. If we want China’s help with North Korea, we must convince them it is in their interests and think of ways that would assuage their concerns. It is in all of our interests to have a peaceful, prosperous united Korea.”

Multilateral Approaches

Two analysts from China, Dr. Huiyao Wang, founder and President of the Center for China and Globalization; and Dr. Feng Zhu, Professor of International Relations and Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Nanjing University, argued that China’s national interests were fundamentally aligned with a peaceful Korean peninsula, and that peaceful unification would benefit China and open the region to expanded prosperity.

Wang said that the incoming Biden administration could provide a new opportunity for a multilateral approach. “It is time to revitalize dialog between the U.S. and China, build mutual trust, find consensus and work toward a coordinated approach,” Wang said. Noting that China has had a lot of economic collaboration with North Korea and South Korea, he said that “economic integration is very important so that ‘mutually assured dependency’’ can replace ‘mutually assured destruction.’”

Dr. Zhu said there were lessons from the history of China and Korea. “Every time Korea unifies and is strong it is an addition to China’s national security.” He particularly noted Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s decision to normalize relations with South Korea and Kim Il Sung’s attempts to block this effort. But Deng was consistent, Zhu said and knew that it would help China to integrate economically and socially into the world community.

Deng also tried to urge North Korea to follow China’s path, which unfortunately was rejected by Kim Il Sung. “Over time, the model of openness and reform proposed by Deng became very important as an easy, workable, peaceful approach for the two Koreas to become reunified. 

Zhu harshly criticized American attitudes toward North Korea, its “stubbornness” and “attitude of supremacy in world affairs,” citing the George W. Bush administration’s labeling of the DPRK as a member of the Axis of Evil as an “unbelievably tactless and wrongful handling of the DPRK.”

During the Six-Party Talks, China and South Korea also cooperated well but the talks foundered. The reason is simple, he said: A conservative government came to power in South Korea that was wholly aligned with the United States. The third generation of the DPRK government reacted by taking steps that could ensure its survival. 

China also supported the 2017 Security Council sanctions to impose fresh sanctions on the DPRK over its nuclear test, Zhu said. The Security Council resolution called for a peaceful settlement through diplomatic and political means, supported the resumption of six-party talks, and stressed measures to de-escalate tension on the peninsula as reported by Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China.

Alignment and Priorities: Korean Perspectives

Presenting a viewpoint from Korea, Dr. Tae-Hwan Kwak, Visiting Chair-Professor at Kyungnam University and former President of the Korea Institute for National Unification, defined three key issues, the end of war declaration at the 2018 Summit, North Korea’s weapons program, and South Korean foreign policy. 

The end of war declaration would open door to denuclearization, Kwak said, but President Trump remained indifferent, preferring a peace declaration and visible progress in denuclearization to an end of war declaration, which would demand the removal of U.S. troops.  Second, North Korea is in an economic crisis due to international sanctions and the COVID pandemic, Kwak said. Its weapons program cannot coexist with economic prosperity. The third issue is South Korean policy and a new, NATO-like South Asia security network to balance growing Chinese influence that includes India, Australia, and other regional nations.

China’s role in resolving the Korea issue is as vital as that of the U.S., Kwak said. South Korea needs to practice balanced diplomacy, with due recognition of the complexities and national interests of both.

Dr. Ki-Young Sung, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said that governments need to acknowledge that all policy approaches have failed, both maximum pressure and maximum engagement.  U.S.- China relations are going to be decisive, he said, while noting areas of common ground including climate change, cybersecurity, and denuclearization. 

“The Korea issue needs to be included with these common issues,” Sung said, including the human rights of the North Korean people. “Few are talking about freedom, freedom from hunger and starvation, giving equal attention to humanitarian issues.” 

Sung urged a balance between incentives and coercive measures and a multilateral framework, particularly to internationalize perception of North Korea’s record of human rights violations.

International Responses

Following the presentations, experts from the UK, India, Russia, and North Korea presented responses. Former UK Ambassador to the DPRK John Everard said that the “hard fact is unification is not fervent wish,” with more enthusiasm in the North than in the South. He said the pandemic has had a shocking impact in the North, which is in need of massive aid, and many observers question if Kim has complete control.

 Dr. Jagannath P. Panda, Centre Coordinator at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, asked whether the entire peace process would depend on dialogue only among the critical actors.

“Japan, Russia, China, and South Korea would like to see ‘non-critical’ participation, including India, Australia and Canada, at some stage to take part in and influence the peace process.” 

“The road to unification must be a stable process, which has existed – if fragile – since the Korean War,” said Dr. Vladimir Ivanov, Senior Associate and Director of Mosco Office, EastWest Institute. “The Trump administration has been not consistent and tried to dismantle existing arrangements.”

Citing the example of relations between the U.S. and USSR, Ivanov said arms control agreements were sustained by the international community and in fact remained in force with Soviet collapse. It is important to think about how to shift from carrot and stick to a more sophisticated arms control policy that reduces factors that present risk, he said.

 

Finally, Mr. Hyun Seung Lee, a North Korean defector and consultant specializing in North Korea affairs, said there may be at least one common purpose shared by the U.S. and China: “the opening up of North Korea.” China has called for North Korea to reform for more than three decades, he said, and North Korea’s current and past leaders have said that they would, “but they have not kept their promise because they firmly believe that they cannot maintain the regime if North Korea reformed.” 

“I strongly believe that the Chinese leadership should join forces with the United States to make Kim Jong Un accept reform and openness, applying maximum pressure instead of calling for reform with nice words.”

 

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

The Korean Dream is not about survival or even establishing minimum freedom and rights; It is about creating a new nation that can bring enormous benefit to all humanity.

Although clearly distressing, the stories of North Korean defectors include a message of overwhelming hope. In our times of crisis, the world must come together. With the support of nations and individuals around the world working towards a common dream, the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula can become a reality that is a catalyst for peace in the region and a model to the world.

More and more North Korean defectors are adding their voice to the One Korea Global Campaign, shedding light on the tragedies of the divided Korea and the dire situation in the North, and more powerfully, sharing a message of hope presented by a united Korea.

Recently, Eiko Kawasaki shared her story to a diverse crowd packed a classroom at the University of Washington at a program co-hosted by the Global Peace Foundation, the Center for Korea Studies at the University of Washington, and the Nehemiah Global Initiative. Ms. Kawasaki is a second-generation Korean living in Japan who defected from the regime in 2003. She is the president of Korea of All, an NGO in Japan that helps defectors adjust to life in Japan, and co-chair of Action for Korea United – Japan, a coalition of civil society organizations advancing a vision for the peaceful reunification of Korean.

Under “Korean diasporic returns to North Korea” project, which ran from 1959 until 1984, a total of 93,340 Koreans living in Japan and their families, including 1,831 Japanese wives, moved to North Korea. The project propaganda painted North Korea as a people’s “Paradise on Earth.” Ms. Kawasaki was among those who moved to start a new life, leaving Japan at the young age of seventeen. She, and many others would not be allowed to return to Japan.

For forty-three years she lived in the horrors of North Korea which she cannot erase from her memory: starvation, torture, murder, violence against women. She painted a picture of bodies littering the streets and inside houses as families quietly passed away. “Theft, robbery, murder, and anything evil you can think of in this world happened all together and created chaos. Some people even ate human flesh.”

She escaped, but she cannot sleep at night, worrying about the family members she left behind, knowing that her escape puts them at risk, and facing the reality that she may never see them again.

Yet, her message is one of hope. She is confident that the world today will join forces to free the people in North Korea. “I ask every one of you to help.” She is fighting to bring freedom and human rights to the people and family she left behind.

Her story and message asks every person to recognize our common humanity. It will be a powerful force when the world recognizes that we are connected, across all borders, whether they be geographic or our ethnicity, language, or culture, we are members of the same human family and work together to secure and protect the inalienable fundamental freedoms and rights of every person.

The One Korea Global Campaign is opening up opportunities for North Koreans to share their stories and their hope for the future of their families and people. Their voices are inspiring people, in Korea and from the international community, to take action for the dream of One Korea.

 

The original post appears on Global Peace Foundation. Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peacebuilding, guided by the vision of One Family under God.  GPF engages and organizes a global network of public and private-sector partners who develop community, national, and regional peace building models as the foundation for ethical and cohesive societies. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is founder and chairman of the Global Peace Foundation.

“I was born in Korea but received my education in America. I became a keen student of American history, searching to understand the source of America’s success and the true meaning of the American Dream. What was it that attracted immigrants to America from all over the world? I came to realize that the essence of this dream was not to be found in externals. It was not about a bigger house, a second car, or a better education for the children. It was to be found in the principles and values that underpinned the American founding…” —Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon (Korean Dream: Vision for a United Korea)

When America’s thirteen colonies declared independence on July 4, 1776, it marked a watershed moment in history. Even while there have been countless rebellions around the world throughout time, what made this one remarkable was its appeal to universal principles rooted in the Creator that we are “all created equal.” It was upon the basis of this eternal truth that the Declaration of Independence offered a new vision: the birth of the dream to build a society based on the ideals of freedom, responsibility and the “pursuit of happiness.”

This first dream helped give birth to the world we see today, shaping modern ideas about human rights and freedoms across the globe. In the creation of “One Nation under God,” America conducted an unprecedented experiment, upholding certain fundamental rights as both inalienable and available to all people. Today, the concept itself is not unique to America, which has since become a “melting pot” of cultures and ethnicities, modeling for all the world that this ideal is possible for any and every society.

The Declaration of Independence advocated the theory of natural rights: the notion that fundamental human rights and freedoms are bestowed, not by the state or monarch, but directly to the people by the Creator, and the purpose of government was to ensure the protection of those rights. 

America’s founders also recognized that those principles and fundamental freedoms could only be effective when citizens had the moral character to use them responsibly as self-governing, virtuous people. It was for this reason that Founding Father, John Adams, expressed: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” This was the reason for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as they worked to enshrine those fundamental rights to serve as a corrective to what could quickly turn into a tyranny of the masses as in a pure democracy.

The Declaration of Independence has been called upon as a touchstone in moments of crisis throughout American history. President Abraham Lincoln, in the last days of the Civil War, challenged the nation to uphold the Declaration and embody its values to create a society in which all people, regardless of race, were truly equal. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the nation to deliver on that same promise that was enshrined in the Declaration in his “I Have a Dream” speech at the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The Declaration’s principles and values moved American history forward, acting as a moral compass to overcome the inevitable crises while uniting the nation around a shared dream. America became a beacon of hope for all oppressed peoples throughout the world who sought “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This promise became the bedrock of innovation and entrepreneurism as freedom, initiative, and creativity were celebrated through the rags-to-riches stories of common people who made their fortunes in America. The American Dream was built upon spiritual principles and values but was made manifest in the worldly fortunes of enterprising men and women who dared to aspire to this dream and take the necessary risks for success that the opportunity of America afforded. 

America’s strength does not simply lie in a democratic political process and free-market economic system. The success or failure of these systems is determined by the principles and values that guide, motivate and unify the citizens of the Republic. We must understand that a democratic process is no guarantee of freedom but rather that these freedoms must be understood, protected and guaranteed from one generation to the next.

The Declaration of Independence continues to exert its influence across the world to this day because the human rights, freedoms, and dignity it defends are universal. In many ways, the Declaration of Independence was never meant just for the American people, but for all humanity. 

Happy July 4th Independence Day to the United States! Today we celebrate the beginnings of this dream for all people. 

In his book, “Korean Dream: A Vision for a Unified Korea,” Dr. Moon references the founding of the United States alongside the story of Genghis Khan and the creation of the Mongol Empire and the dream of the Korean people.

The principles and the dream that inspired the creation of America provide insights for the United States as well as the world today. Among clashing political, ideological, cultural differences we are all looking for a way to connect and engage and be one nation.

A recent workshop hosted by the Family Peace Association in the United States, organized by a high school student as his Eagle Scout project, explored universal principles of the American founding and how it applies to global citizenship.

The following post is based on the personal reflections of a participant and speaker:

Sometimes called the melting pot of all nations, America’s founding principles and shared values have enabled it to embrace diverse cultures and religions while maintaining some social cohesion. Its Declaration of Independence states that God the Creator grants all people inalienable rights. At the same time, it calls for each person to live their lives for a greater purpose because every person’s value and equal rights are given to us from a source greater than ourselves.

These founding values have formed the spirit of service based on human rights and the opportunity to build a culture and a society that transcends the  barriers of race, religion, and other divisions to find common ground in fundamental rights, the ideal of freedom, and to serve those who could not protect those freedoms for themselves.

The founding fathers of America recognized just how important these fundamental freedoms were. They willingly put their very lives on the line to protect the values that would be later articulated as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The original phrase was “life, liberty, and property.” However, it was rewritten to the more appropriate “pursuit of happiness,” which conveys the spiritual pursuit of all humanity.

The pursuit of happiness rests not on the aspiration of one individual but depends on relationships founded in virtues. Happiness cannot be achieved alone; it is found only in dynamic relationships. It is a collective effort between people and within the family. Some of the most charitable efforts, from alleviating poverty to responding to natural disasters, are motivated by this spiritual pursuit of happiness.

It is this same spirit of service that motivates many military personals in the United States to champion human rights for all people, not just their own nation. This spirit of selfless service is what inspires servicewomen and men to get up every day, train, and work hard to not only protect the fundamental freedom of all people but to protect the ability to create a culture of values, raising healthy families with the potential to pursue happiness. In many ways, it is the legacy of the American story – “the pursuit of happiness” for all people.

Jeremy is a serviceman who shared his testimony at a recent Family Peace Association family workshop. As a husband, father, graduate student, and Captain in the United States Army, the values he strives to build up in his own family are the same values that gives him the motivation and passion to serve his country, willing to even lay down his life to protect fundamental human rights and the founding ideals that made America a melting pot of people and cultures from every other nation around the world.

“I absolutely love the USA. What made me feel this way were the values that America’s founding represented.”

When he first became a cadet, Jeremy vowed that he would “not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” He described that standard and the values that come with it as more important than life itself. A values-based culture is what makes values a reality in everyday life.

There are ideals and values, like the sense of service to humanity, that is bigger than any one nation or organization. They are universal. Global citizenship is something all of us can practice with every generation as we continue the legacy of service through our families and communities around the world.

The original post appears on Family Peace Association. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is the founder of the Family Peace Association.

Originally posted on May 24, 2018. Updated on May 21, 2020.

In the United States, every last Monday in May we commemorate Memorial Day. On this day, we honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to the country and her founding ideals.

Memorial Day was born out of the sacrifice and heartbreak of the American Civil War. First held in 1868 as Decoration Day, the nation still recovering from the losses of the bloodiest war in its history. As an act to honor the soldiers who gave their lives for their country, we began the tradition of placing flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers.

That first Decoration Day, General James Garfield, who later became the 20th President of the United States, joined children orphaned by the war to spread flowers on graves at the Arlington Cemetery in Virginia leading to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They also had a reading of the late President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which – even today – continues to remind us of the ideals upon which America was founded:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…”

The founding of the United States marked a revolution in the history of the world as it articulated and enacted the ideal of equal human rights for all, endowed to us by the Creator. This example has since served as the basis for the world we see today; a global society that acknowledges the importance of democracy, self-governance and basic human rights. In serving these higher ideals, American patriots who put their lives on the line not only protected their own but served the cause of our greater human family.

On Memorial Day, we can honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice by working to pass those values for which they fought on to the next generation.

How will you celebrate Memorial Day?