Rearing Monarchs #15:

Family Ethics and Politics
Unification Thoughts, July 2022

Welcome back In this article, we’ll continue looking into the scope of family ethics—meaning its expansion into the real world beyond a child’s family. And in case you’re joining us for the first time, please take a moment to read about the purpose and focus of this Rearing Monarchs series¹, of which this article is the 15^th.

As we’d established in the past couple of articles, the values and ethics that a person learns in their childhood form the backbone for their ethical life as working adults. As UT explains:

“…family ethics is the basis of all ethics. If family ethics is applied to society, it becomes social ethics; if applied to corporations, it becomes corporate ethics; if applied to the state, it becomes state ethics.” • NEUT, p. 285

Where we left off and where we’re going

Last time, we’d looked at the application of family ethics in business. This time, we'll look into how family ethics applies in state ethics (i.e., politics). Inherent in the core ideas of this series of articles—kingships and monarchs—is the idea of governance, and therefore politics.

Though I haven’t personal experience in politics and government, there are important examples which I'll mention later. But let’s lay some basic groundwork about Principled politics first.

Politics as it’s introduced in the Principle

Politics has played an important role in the providence of restoration, so it’s mentioned 19 times in the DP chapter on the Parallels in history, from p. 317–343. Of those mentions, this particular paragraph goes a bit deeper:

“…religion and economy are related in that they are responsible for restoring the internal and external aspects of fallen people’s lives. …Religion and economy are integrated with our life in society through politics. Especially in Western Europe, politics has sought to connect economic development…with the path of Christianity, which has often lacked a clear sense of its providential direction….” • Exposition of DP, p. 334–335

I think this paragraph holds an important idea for our young ones to understand: that Principled politics is an integration of religion and economy. I consider that important because of the impression I gained while teaching: that politics is not well-regarded by many of our young. And indeed that opinion was pretty widespread among my own generation. Especially during my college years, we thought that politics is a “dirty business” and it’s best to steer clear of it.

But this perspective offered by the Principle is different and quite important for our young ones to at least be aware of: Who would be more qualified to administer a heavenly economy than those persons who are truly religious, and whose motivation is to care for others as members of Heavenly Parents’ extended family? This means that being a true politician is actually a noble calling. So it should be a respected option for those of our young who have such talents or ambitions. For in the Settlement Age, when blessed families are tasked to actually build the CIG, there will be a genuine need for principled people in government. The time for future leaders to learn those ethical values deeply is when they are young.

Note that in two of the Principle’s chapters building up to the last one, we are introduced to the three Ideals of Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universally Shared Values”². They are described as “the three aspects of religion, politics and economy”. And they are so essential to our concept of a peaceful, ideal world that they have been highlighted in our most important public events in recent years. But that chapter in the Principle closes without any real explanation of those ideals. We can turn to UT for that.

Politics as it’s explored in Unification Thought

In the textbook Essentials of Unification Thought, politics is explored in its Appendix, in the section on mutual prosperity:

“The principle of mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness is a principle addressing a certain dimension of Rev. Moon’s concept of Godism, namely, the dimension including economics, politics and ethics.” • NEUT, p. 507

The three ideals are named slightly differently here, due to differences in translation between the Principle and Unification Thought³. But regardless of differences in translation, they address the three same areas: economics, politics and ethics.

In case you missed it, four paragraphs earlier the Principle mentions religion rather than ethics. So are two different things being addressed? In short, no: in this quote from UT, religion and ethics are equated:

“…the ideal world is a world of values, and will be a unified world characterized by the three major spheres of true life, ethical life and artistic life, and at the same time it will be a society of ‘mutual existence, mutual prosperity and mutual righteousness,’ wherein God’s love is realized in politics, economy, and religion (ethics).” • NEUT, p. 96

Which is understandable, because religion is a major source of moral and ethical guidance. So now, we can take a look a some of the values of true politics.

State Ethics

What follows is not an exhaustive explanation of the political views of Godism. We’re after all focused mainly on raising our children, so that they can become “kings and queens of the present” in their adulthood. So rather than a detailed exploration of Godism’s political positions, we’ll only suggest how the ethical and moral values a child learns in its family can become the basis for the way that child conceives of politics. Which impacts how that child could practice politics as a civil servant later on. As Unification Thought says:

“If family ethics is applied to…the state, it becomes state ethics.”
• NEUT, p. 285

Our young people are pretty idealistic and the community has an ethos of living for others, so there should be some future civil servants among them. In that case, long before they take their first political science class, they should know and understand at least the basic perspective of Godism. Here then are just a few quotes which indicate the general perspective of true politics.

The benevolence of parental heart

Here, the role of a president toward the citizens reflects the heart of the parent or grandparent toward their family:

“The role of the president of a country is to govern the people well and empower them to live well. The role of the governor of a province is to harmoniously govern the province….” • New Essentials of UT, p. 527

“If this ethical system is expanded to the national level, it means that the President or Prime Minister of a nation will love the people as if they were members of his own family, thinking of them whether awake or asleep. As the people respect and support him as a parent, (harmony) is created, and the nation develops.” • Explaining UT, p. 236

(Speaking of prime ministers, an inspiring anecdote about one came to my attention around Father’s Day.)

The fidelity of siblings’ heart

And here is quite a different understanding of how officials would be selected:

“… the relationship among the candidates would not be that of rivalry, but that of brothers and sisters attending the Messiah… the candidates would run for election not by their own will, but rather with the recommendation of many neighbors….” • New Essentials of UT, p. 518

That kind of relationship would make the tone of campaigns one of sincerely offering one’s best, rather than of attacking or discrediting adversaries.

Democracy then would take a different character, again reflecting the extension of familial ethics:

“…a joint government will be a ‘government of the brothers and sisters, by the brothers and sisters, and for the brothers and sisters, centered on the True Parents of humankind’… (It) can be expressed as a fraternal democracy.” • New Essentials of UT, p. 519

This stands in contrast to democracy as we experience now experience it.⁴

The mother’s heart

The role of the mother is specially highlighted as it applies to the wider world. UT mentions this:

“In order to realize world peace it is highly desirable for women to take the lead, since the primary force for peace in a family is the mother.” • New Essentials of UT, p. 290

So this becomes another essential awareness to cultivate in our young ones. The founding of the Women’s Federation for World Peace in 1992 brought to the forefront the critical importance of women in establishing the peaceful world. That is an entire area of study that needs attention throughout a child’s education. But for now, we have books that give the principled perspective on it:

1. Pyeong Hwa Gyeong, Book 6: The Role of Women in Creating the Ideal World
2. Chambumo Gyeong, Book 12: The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and the Women’s Era⁵

The relationship of government branches

Lastly, it’s useful to be aware of an important notion about the working relationship between branches of a principled, ideal government in the future:

“Under the principle of mutual prosperity, a separation of the three powers is proposed, but more in the sense of a division of the work of the three branches, legislation, judicial, and administrative, all working in harmony.” • New Essentials of UT, p. 520

So it is not a matter of agencies keeping a wary, distrustful eye on each other in order to keep them reined in, but a matter of synchronized cooperation, like the organs of the human body. Here’s how the Principle describes it:

“In the human body, the lungs, heart and stomach maintain harmonious interaction… By analogy, the three branches of government in the ideal world—the legislative, judicial and executive branches—will interact in harmonious and principled relationships when they follow God’s guidance as conveyed through Christ….” • Exposition of DP, p. 361–362

Family ethics on a grand scale

That last point is what makes harmonious interaction possible: Christ manifests the benevolent heart of Heavenly Parent towards all the family members. That heart and its parental concerns provide the primary, common motivation for all governance.

The prime example of these last two points is organizations like the IAPP and the years of Omonim’s national and international peace conferences and meetings with heads of state.

I think that the role of the UPF—the “Abel UN”—and Think Tank 2022 are also practical  examples of family ethics applied to politics, even on a grand scale. Which leads to one last interesting point.

The distribution of power

When there is a common heart and driving purpose at every level of governance, it isn’t necessary for every single decision to be made only at the top. Rather, they can be made at the governing level that is most appropriate for a given situation. UT uses the example of the way government actions are decided by referring to the procedure in Korea:

“…information that cannot be handled by the subcounty is sent to the county; if it cannot be handled there, it is sent to the province; if necessary, it can finally be sent to the central government. Almost all information, however, is dealt with below the province.”
• Explaining UT, p. 162

What makes this possible is the united commitment to a shared, common purpose. Once again, it’s like the human body, where every single action or function isn’t necessarily reliant on the conscious direction of the brain. There is autonomy in the different body parts to decide and act as needed.⁶

Another example is the relationship between members of a successful sports team: while executing a game play, each player acts as needed without pausing to consult with the other players, the captain, or the coach. (Imagine if they had to do that!) This is only possible of course when (like a healthy human body) they have a single common purpose/heart which guides the decisions that each team member makes.

Resources

In addition to the big examples of family ethics as applied to politics mentioned above, there are other ones that you may know of from the past, that you might have been a part of, or that your are currently involved in. I’m certain there are many that I don’t know of, but here are a very few:

American Freedom Coalition (AFC) - Father Moon briefly indicated his intention for the AFC in Chambumo Gyeong.⁷ There isn’t an AFC website any more, but this page provides the fascinating background of the organization, its purpose and its activities. One of its members who served as a senator for many terms told me that in his experience every single problem he dealt with in governance could be traced to family problems. I was incredulous, but he assured me that it was indeed so. For that reason he expressed great appreciation for Mother Moon’s investment in strengthening families.

Peace In - This organization does community service projects which immerse young people in different cultures and therefore involve and inspire elected officials. It’s also a noteworthy example of women having impact in communities and their politics. It’s connected to the Universal Peace Federation which was mentioned above.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, version 4.0 - This is the one book I’m aware of that explores American democracy from a Principled viewpoint. The overview of this book states that it:

“…explains the evolution of the core principles of political philosophy contained in the US Constitution and how, in the quest for power and wealth, they have been circumvented and misapplied by those who followed after the founders. …The final chapter suggests changes that would eliminate numerous conflicts of interest and create checks and balances that would make the system more efficient and functional.”

I’ve highlighted more passages on more pages in this book than almost any other in my library. An extension of the ideas in this book can be found in this website.

President John Adams - The second president of America noted the importance of religion to governance in the new nation:

“…we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - 11 October, 1798)

This quote is about ethics in general rather than about family ethics per se, but I think it’s too important to omit. The full quote is viewable here and it’s prescient, considering the situation today.⁸

* * *

This has been a pretty long article, so it’s time to close it. Please remember that it’s not a thorough examination of the political theory of Godism. Nor is it about how soon this will all happen.

Like the Principle of Creation and Unification Thought, this is about a vision that can inspire and guide us to proceed toward a New World.

Our concern here is to highlight the importance of the ethics and morals a child learns in their family. Those are the foundation for their lives in government service, if that is indeed their destiny. Because the Settlement Era CIG will need people skilled in governance—true politicians who are genuinely religious and who can guide economy in a genuinely benevolent and principled manner.

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