Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, Founder of the Global Peace Foundation makes the case for a great spiritual awakening for the 21st century.

During the Global Peace Convention 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA , Dr. Hyun Jin Moon put a call out for a great spiritual awakening to bring the United States back to its founding ideals in order to serve the world.

This weekend, the Global Peace Foundation USA will host a seminal leadership conference in Arlington, Virginia entitled “Forging a Consensus on Essential Principles and Shared Values in Today’s Pluralistic Society“ . Influential leaders of faith will gather to seek to articulate universal principles and build consensus on shared values as a foundation for cooperation and a renewed presence of spirituality in the public square.

Below is an excerpt from Dr. Moon’s address at the Global Peace Convention in 2012.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the United States may be the world’s sole remaining superpower, but we need to be clear about where America’s true strength lies. It is not in U.S. military might, greatly stretched in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. Nor is it in America’s geopolitical and economic dominance, now challenged by its debt crisis and questions about its leadership in the Middle East, Asia and the international community.

I believe that America’s true strength lies in its moral authority as a nation rooted in spiritual principles and values which has championed human rights and freedoms at home and abroad.  This is a nation with the aspiration to become “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”   It was this vision that inspired millions from all corners of the world regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality and religion to make the long and perilous journey to a new nation filled with hope and opportunity. In order for the United States to exercise genuine global leadership in today’s more complex and fragmenting world, it must rekindle that position of true servant leadership, offering its inclusive national promise to the world.

Now more than ever, the United States must look to its unique founding ideals as the basis for a new Renaissance in the 21^st century rooted in universally accepted aspirations, principles and values.   Just as the European Renaissance gave rise to the Reformation and the Enlightenment and, thereby laid the groundwork for our modern world, a new global movement for change needs to arise, anchored in the past but bringing a fresh, new vision for the future.  This is a time for bold leadership, that is guided by a universal aspiration and tied to those time-tested principles and values that form the basis of our common humanity.

In the course of the last century, the United States has been the catalyst for positive global change, challenging European colonial imperialism, and creating international assemblies to foster peace through dialogue and reason.  The League of Nations after the First World War, and the United Nations after the Second World War, were created as a result.  During the Cold War era, American leadership, and faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms, paved the way for the eventual collapse of totalitarian, communist regimes around the world. The historical role of the United States in shaping, and then leading, the world to where we are today, is undisputed. The question then is what should be America’s role going forward, as we look to this new century and the challenges that it brings.”

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Lady Liberty is a reminder of why America has been blessed.

In 2012, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon addressed religious leaders at the first Coalition for American Renewal Symposium.

“I firmly believe that God has blessed America not for itself but for the sake of the world. As a “shining city upon a hill”, America is to give hope to all as a model of a unified world. America is to e a place where people of all races and backgrounds can discover the deeper basis of human value; that “under God” all have been endowed, equally with the same essential rights. America is meant to be a living demonstration that all people of the world are to be one family under God.”

Today, the International Young Leaders Assembly visited the Statue of Liberty during their cultural excursion of New York City. Although the United States has sometimes struggled to manifest its founding principles by uplifting the dignity of all people, Lady Liberty stands are a reminder of why the United States has been blessed.

Read the blog post that appeared on Global Peace Foundation about the beacon of America’s values.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land
Here at our sea-washed, sunset fates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Emma Lazarus wrote this poem about Lady Liberty as part of an effort to raise funds for the completion of the statue. The poem now adorns the inner wall of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal.

Lady Liberty stands at the mouth of the Manhattan harbor welcoming the world’s weak and tired, those worn by the troubles of their old world, and promising a new life of opportunity and freedom.  She embraces every person who comes to her shores,  honoring the sacred value of each life.

She has become a symbol of the principles that the United States was built on and continues to work towards, an iconic representation of international friendship, cooperation, human dignity, hope, pride and compassion.

Although there are stains on the history of this young country, Lady Liberty continues to stand as a beacon of hope and promise.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship between France and the United States. She is an example and result of international and national cooperation. The statue herself was funded by the French people. However, there were insufficient funds to erect her pedestal. The symbol of America’s values and vision was at risk of being lost. Yet, many different Americans: artist, business and community leaders, middle and upper class, collectively took ownership to support the project.

Journalist and entrepreneur Joseph Pulitzer was one such person. In his publication, New York World, he ran the following appeal.

“We must raise the money! The World is the people’s paper, and now it appeals to the people to come forward and raise the money. The $250,000 that the making of the Statue cost was paid in by the masses of the French people- by the working men, the tradesmen, the shop girls, the artisans- by all, irrespective of class or condition. Let us respond in like manner. Let us not wait for the millionaires to give us this money. It is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America, but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of America.”

The popular appeal raised $100,000 in six months, enough for the pedestal. Most donations were under $1, which equates to approximately 125,000 Americans funding the project.

The Statue of Liberty was erected in 1886, a result of ownership over common vision and values, and teamwork from every tier of society.

In 1986, she would again become the centerpiece of the American the spirit of shared responsibility.  The fundraising effort for her restoration fund is the most successful private-public fundraising effort in American history.

Lady Liberty stands as a symbol of hope to many weary immigrants, and an icon of human dignity and compassion. No matter where you came from or what your story, she welcomes you with her warm light, guides you to her shores, and offers refuge.  Lady Liberty embraces all walks of life, for she acknowledges that all life is sacred, as how God intended.

She is much more than just an amazing engineering feat.  She stands as a symbol of liberty, justice, love, and the idea that all of humanity is one family under God.  She reminds us all that we have a responsibility to one another to protect and ensure a brighter future for each generation that is to follow.

original article appears on www.globalpeace.org

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People who were old enough will recall powerful images of November 9, 1989, the collapse of the Berlin Wall. East and West Germans scaling the wall to embrace on ramparts that used to be laced with barbed wire. The concrete wall being torn down by any and all means: cranes, hammers and bare hands.

What is often overlooked, is the sudden groundswell of public protests in the autumn of 1989. . This movement was “Die Wende” (the turning point) that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and eventual German unification.

Until that point, despite the opening of the USSR through Perestroika and Glasnost, and the thawing of Cold War relations, many European neighbors expressed strong reservations about German unification. Among them were British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President Francois Mitterrand who warned against the dangers of a rising German power.

It was the “Friedliche Revolution” or Peaceful Revolution that tipped the scales. And at the heart of this revolution was the Protestant church.

Protestant Church Sparks an Awakening

Until that point, the voice of civil society in East Germany was closely controlled. Even the sparse dissent coming from academia and intellectual circles was scattered. Furthermore, writers had to self-censor to survive the close surveillance of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). What the SED did not anticipate, was the voice of the Protestant Church.

“They radiated an aura of reformist sincerity that was familiar to those who had seen American pastors active in the civil rights struggle.” In East Germany, the Protestant Church and the German Democratic Republic had come to an understanding that enabled the church to survive in the godless regime. The church would remain a-political and thus autonomous. Theological Seminaries in Germany were the only places where SED membership was not required.  Beginning in the early 80s, this agreement of separation between church and state began to deteriorate as younger church leaders began engaging in the civic square. “They radiated an aura of reformist sincerity that was familiar to those who had seen American pastors active in the civil rights struggle.” [1]

The Monday protests began in the Church of St. Nicholas in Leipzig. It amassed tens of thousands of East Germans in peaceful protests. (German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv))

In 1983, Führer began Prayers for Peace (Friedensgebet ) at his church.  Every Monday at 5pm, the church opened its door to anyone who wanted to pray for peace. The prayer service began with reading the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers….”

The prayer service became a safe and open place for East Germans to discuss their concerns. It was also a space for the Church to interface morals and ethics with social issues such as the rising threat of nuclear war and the stagnation of the East German regime.

Prayers for Peace Grows into Peaceful Protests

In the fall of 1989, the Monday prayers for peace burgeoned from hundreds to thousands. Führer recalls, “They (the people) brought the masses.”  On October 9^th, days after the German Democratic Republic government had hosted its 40^th anniversary celebration, 70,000 thousand gathered.

“The Church is only the church when it is there for others.” ~Dietrich Bonheoffer It wasn’t certain that the protests would be peaceful. Just a few weeks prior, protesters were beaten by the Statzi . Despite threats, pastors and speakers urged the protestors to remain peaceful. As the people flooded into Leipzig square, surrounding churches opened their doors to accommodate the overflow.

The only weapons wielded by the peaceful crowd were candles and banners saying, “Wir sind das volk” (We are the people).  That night, there was no violence. News spread through East and West Germany of the peaceful protests, and inspired others to follow suit.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

The protests, combined with the massive exodus of East Germans fleeing to West Germany through Hungary, forced General Secretary Erich Honecker to resign. By November 7^th, the entire East German government resigned. On November 9^th, the Berlin Wall came down.

By March 1990, merely months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany held its first free multi-party elections, and seven months later, in October, Germany was officially reunited.

Economic integration would take even longer; and according to Chancellor Angela Merkel, the “inner unification” of the two disparate cultures still continues.

Despite trepidations, pastors and protest leaders urged for a peaceful and united front. (Source: German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) )

Nevertheless, the victory of the Peaceful Revolution was that “non-violent protests could fell a system of dictatorship most Westerners had believed unshakable.” (Civil Disobedience) Unlike the violent revolution in Romania, which left thousands dead, and executed the former dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife, the peaceful protests that swept through East Germany enabled a peaceful and swift transformation of the political system.

The Peaceful Revolution was an awakening of East Germans to the ideal of peace. It was spearheaded by the Protestant ministers who were inspired by the example of other religious leaders like the pastors of the American Civil Rights and Dietrich Bonheoffer, who stepped out of the religious box and into the public square to engage the ethics of their faith in the social and political issues of the day.

Today Leipzig is remembered as the hero city, “heldenstadt”.

[1] Roberts, A., & Garton-Ash, T. (2009). Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present . Oxford University Press.

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