Interview Transcript: Frederick Clarkson on Reverend Moon and the Unification Church

The reach and depth of Reverend Sun Myung Moon into the US is incredible. We learn about it, and a new, very scary religious organizaiton that we really need to keep an eye on.

image from Wikipedia

Interview Date: September 5, 2012 

Rob: Welcome to the Rob Kall Bottom Up Radio Show, WNJC 1360 AM out of Washington township, reaching metro Philly and south Jersey; sponsored by OpEdNews.com with our podcasts archived at both iTunes, at OpEdNews.com/podcasts. If you're looking for them at iTunes, just look for my name, "Rob Kall," K-a-l-l.

   My guest tonight is Frederick Clarkson. He's a senior fellow at Political Research Associates in Somerville, Massachusetts. He's a longtime observer of the religious right. including Reverend Moon, and that's what we're going to be talking about--at least starting the conversation tonight.

Reverend Moon passed away and Frederick Clarkson had this to say about him. "Reverend Sun Myung Moon was the most pernicious, anti-Democratic figures in the United States in the latter half of the 20^th century. Moon hated America. He hated our tradition of individual rights and independent thought. He hated democracy and said he wanted to replace it with a theocracy under his own rule." Pretty tough stuff. It goes on, "Although many would be loathe to admit it, Moon has been a central figure in the development of the modern American Conservative Movement since the 1960s; from Richard Viguerie's direct mail operation, to the religious and political empire of Jerry Falwell."

Welcome to the show.

Frederick:  Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Rob: That's quite an obituary there.

Frederick:  Yeah, I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but in his case it's hard to find good things to say.

Rob: Well, how old was he?

Frederick:  He was 92.

Rob: Ninety-two, that's almost a century of being a pox upon humanity, there. Now, how did he have such an affect upon the United States? I know the Unity Church owned the Washington Times. Is it still owned--

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