George Mcgovern Quotes

Powerful George Mcgovern for Daily Growth

About George Mcgovern

George McGovern (January 19, 1922 - October 21, 2012) was an American politician, professor, writer, and United States Air Force officer who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1957-1961) and U.S. Senator from South Dakota (1963-1981). Known for his progressive political views, humanitarian efforts, and eloquent oratory skills, McGovern also made a significant impact as an author. Born in Avon, South Dakota, McGovern grew up during the Great Depression, which instilled in him a strong sense of empathy and social justice. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, earning distinction as a bomber pilot. Upon returning home, he attended Dakota Wesleyan University, Grinnell College, and Northwestern University, where he earned his Ph.D. in American History in 1953. McGovern entered politics in the late 1950s, representing South Dakota's at-large congressional district. In 1962, he was elected to the Senate, becoming one of the youngest senators in U.S. history. During his tenure, he advocated for civil rights, disarmament, and the end of the Vietnam War. McGovern's most notable achievement came in 1972 when he won the Democratic Party presidential nomination but lost the general election to Richard Nixon. Despite the defeat, McGovern continued his work as a professor, author, and humanitarian. Among his numerous books, "The War Against Poverty" (1964), co-authored with Sargent Shriver, highlighted the challenges faced in President Johnson's war on poverty, while "McGovern for President: A Personal Account of a Campaign" (1973) chronicled his presidential campaign. In his later years, he wrote about food security and world hunger, penning books such as "Freedom from Hunger 2000" (1975) and "Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants" (1996). Throughout his life, George McGovern remained a dedicated advocate for peace, justice, and the less fortunate. His legacy continues to inspire generations of Americans committed to making the world a better place.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The future will not be shaped by those who merely conform to the present."

This quote by George McGovern suggests that to influence and shape the future, it's insufficient to simply follow or adhere to existing norms or practices. It takes forward-thinking individuals with innovative ideas, courage, and a willingness to challenge the status quo who can bring about positive change. In other words, progress requires nonconformists, those who dare to imagine and create a different future.

"In any conflict between what is legal and what is just, I would always choose justice."

This quote from George McGovern emphasizes the importance of upholding moral principles over adhering to strict legalities. It suggests that in situations where a law or rule conflicts with fundamental notions of fairness and justice, one should prioritize what is morally right. This perspective highlights the need for empathy and ethics in decision-making processes and underscores that laws are meant to serve and protect people, not oppress them.

"I believe that every person, black or white, American or foreign-born, rich or poor, young or old, has the capacity for greatness and can achieve their dreams if given a fair chance."

George McGovern's quote emphasizes the inherent equality of all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, or age. He asserts that every person has the potential for greatness and can achieve their dreams if given a fair opportunity. This perspective advocates for inclusivity, equality, and equal opportunities, suggesting that one's potential should not be limited by external factors but rather nurtured and provided the chance to flourish.

"There are times when one must take a stand, even if there is no guarantee of success or without popular support."

This quote suggests that sometimes it's necessary to act on principles, beliefs, or causes, even when the outcome is uncertain or not widely supported by others. It underscores the importance of standing up for what one believes in, especially in the face of adversity or opposition, as a demonstration of integrity and commitment. This sentiment is often relevant in contexts like social activism, ethical decision-making, or political leadership where taking a stand can be challenging but vital for progress and positive change.

"It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness."

This quote by George McGovern emphasizes the importance of positive action over complaining or pessimism. Instead of focusing on problems or difficulties (cursing the darkness), it encourages us to bring light into situations, meaning we should strive to be proactive, find solutions, and create change rather than just criticizing or lamenting about issues.

I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.

- George McGovern

Thought, Very, About, Utter

I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.

- George McGovern

War, Frequently, World War, Flamboyant

I am fed up with a system which busts the pot smoker and lets the big dope racketeer go free.

- George McGovern

Big, Which, Fed, Pot

Every once in a while, I run into somebody who tells me that she met her husband in my campaign or a husband who says, I met my wife. I have to tell you, I caused a few divorces too.

- George McGovern

Wife, Tell, Caused, Divorces

When I was a youngster growing up in South Dakota, we never referred to the national debt, it was always referred to as the war debt because it stemmed from World War I.

- George McGovern

Always, World War I, Stemmed

It really is true that an orator is simply a good man who speaks well.

- George McGovern

True, Orator, Speaks, A Good Man

The Establishment center... has led us into the stupidest and cruelest war in all history. That war is a moral and political disaster - a terrible cancer eating away at the soul of our nation.

- George McGovern

War, Nation, Away, Stupidest

The truth is that I oppose the Iraq war, just as I opposed the Vietnam War, because these two conflicts have weakened the U.S. and diminished our standing in the world and our national security.

- George McGovern

War, Opposed, Iraq, National Security

One of the sharp parallels is that neither Vietnam nor Iraq was the slightest threat to America's national security.

- George McGovern

Sharp, Vietnam, Iraq, National Security

It is not patriotic to commit young Americans to war unless our national security clearly requires it.

- George McGovern

War, Young, Patriotic, National Security

For 50 years, the Republicans have been accusing the Democrats of being soft on national security.

- George McGovern

Security, Been, Accusing, National Security

Under the guise of protecting us from ourselves, the right and the left are becoming ever more aggressive in regulating behavior.

- George McGovern

More, Becoming, Protecting, Aggressive

I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.

- George McGovern

War, Die, Dreaming, Young Men

From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.

- George McGovern

Nation, Come, Our, High Places

I would not plan to base my campaign primarily on opposition to the war in the Persian Gulf.

- George McGovern

Opposition, Campaign, Would, Gulf

I think the country's getting disgusted with Washington partly because of the decline of civility in government.

- George McGovern

Think, Country, Getting, Disgusted

I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.

- George McGovern

Protecting, Everyday Lives, Maintaining

I wish I had known more firsthand about the concerns and problems of American businesspeople while I was a U.S. senator and later a presidential nominee. That knowledge would have made me a better legislator and a more worthy aspirant to the White House.

- George McGovern

Worthy, About, Had, Presidential

I flew a full string of 35 combat missions over some of the most heavily defended targets in Europe. We were hitting Hitler's oil refineries, his tank factories, his aircraft factories, his railway yards. Those were our prime targets.

- George McGovern

Some, String, Defended, Railway

I never even had the time to read novels.

- George McGovern

Never, Read, Even, Novels

I was the guy who was constantly speaking out against the Vietnam War. I have no regrets about that.

- George McGovern

Regrets, No Regrets, Against, Vietnam War

When you start one of these programs, school lunch programs, in a country that heretofore had nothing of that kind, immediately school enrollment jumps dramatically. Girls and boys get to the classroom with the promise of a good meal once a day.

- George McGovern

Lunch, Country, Jumps, Dramatically

I make one pledge above all others - to seek and speak the truth with all the resources of mind and spirit I command.

- George McGovern

Mind, Spirit, Resources, Pledge

I hope I live long enough to see every hungry school child in the world being fed under the so-called McGovern-Dole program.

- George McGovern

Enough, Being, Fed, So-Called

I'm a movie buff.

- George McGovern

Movie, Buff

At least I have precluded the possibility of peaking too early.

- George McGovern

Early, Too, Least, Possibility

Everyone is exposed to economic risks of some kind.

- George McGovern

Risks, Some, Everyone, Exposed

I was tired. I hadn't slept eight hours in two, three years. I lived on four, five hours of sleep. You can do it during a campaign because thousands are screaming for you. You're getting adrenaline shots each day. Then the campaign ends, and there are no more shots.

- George McGovern

Two, Three, Years, Screaming

Well, we ought to be stirred, even to tears, by society's ills.

- George McGovern

Society, Tears, Even, Ought

As an American, I want our forces to prevail.

- George McGovern

American, Want, Forces, Prevail

If you're Iran's minister of defense, I think you'd try to develop at least one nuclear weapon to save yourself from what happened to Iraq.

- George McGovern

Think, I Think, Minister, At Least One

When I was small, my most serious handicap was a painful bashfulness in the presence of strangers.

- George McGovern

Small, Most, Handicap, Presence

I suppose politicians have always wanted to get re-elected, but there's a kind of a feeling now that if you just discredit your opposition, it makes it easier for you to win. I don't think that's necessarily true.

- George McGovern

Get, Your, Necessarily, Re-Elected

I firmly believed throughout 1971 that the major hurdle to winning the presidency was winning the Democratic nomination. I believed that any reasonable Democrat would defeat President Nixon. I now think that no one could have defeated him in 1972.

- George McGovern

Defeated, Firmly, Nixon, Hurdle

I'm constantly meeting people who said that they cast their first vote for me, or that they cut their eye teeth on the 1972 campaign, or that they didn't vote for me but admire my positions.

- George McGovern

Admire, Cut, Positions, Vote

My heart does sometimes bleed for those who are hurting in my own country and abroad.

- George McGovern

Country, My Own, Abroad, Hurting

The whole campaign was a tragic case of mistaken identity.

- George McGovern

Identity, Campaign, Whole, Tragic

Somehow politicians have become convinced that negative campaigning pays off in elections.

- George McGovern

Negative, Convinced, Somehow, Pays

I hope someday we will be able to proclaim that we have banished hunger in the United States, and that we've been able to bring nutrition and health to the whole world.

- George McGovern

Will, Been, United States, Nutrition

I always thought of myself as a moderate liberal, a fighter for peace and justice. I never thought of myself as being all that far out.

- George McGovern

Myself, Thought, Always, Moderate

My dad was a Methodist minister.

- George McGovern

Minister, Dad, Methodist

My father was a clergyman and always said: 'Hate the sin but love the sinner.'

- George McGovern

Love, Always, Clergyman, Sinner

Empathy is born out of the old biblical injunction 'Love the neighbor as thyself.'

- George McGovern

Love, Empathy, Injunction, Thyself

People didn't have the political guts to stand up against an American war.

- George McGovern

War, Political, Against, Stand Up

I am 1,000 percent for Tom Eagleton and I have no intention of dropping him from the ticket.

- George McGovern

Ticket, Dropping, Am, Intention

When I was in the war, I was lucky that I was in a plane and never saw the carnage close-up.

- George McGovern

Lucky, Never, Plane, Carnage

I have a very deep concern about President Obama putting in another 21,000 troops into Afghanistan with the promise of more to come.

- George McGovern

Deep, Very, Putting, President Obama

Democrats believe that the federal government is not our enemy, it's our partner.

- George McGovern

Government, Partner, Federal

The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher plain.

- George McGovern

Love, Patriotism, Country, Higher

You know, sometimes, when they say you're ahead of your time, it's just a polite way of saying you have a real bad sense of timing.

- George McGovern

Bad, Ahead, Polite, They Say

No man should advocate a course in private that he's ashamed to admit in public.

- George McGovern

Admit, Private, Ashamed, Advocate

I am a liberal and always have been - just not the wild-eyed character the Republicans made me out to be.

- George McGovern

Always, Been, Republicans, Liberal

There is a strong tendency in the United States to rally round the flag and their troops, no matter how mistaken the war.

- George McGovern

Strong, Flag, United States, Troops

I've enjoyed myself 90 percent of the time.

- George McGovern

Time, Myself, Percent, Enjoyed

Politics is an act of faith; you have to show some kind of confidence in the intellectual and moral capacity of the public.

- George McGovern

Politics, Some, Act, Intellectual

The longer the title, the less important the job.

- George McGovern

Important, Less, Longer, Title

I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie.

- George McGovern

Here, Always, South Dakota, Dakota

I met my wife in South Dakota.

- George McGovern

Wife, South Dakota, South, Dakota

I seek to call America home to those principles that gave us birth.

- George McGovern

Birth, Call, Gave, Principles

You don't run for the presidency out of nostalgia.

- George McGovern

Nostalgia, Run, You, Presidency

I seek the presidency because I believe deeply in the American promise and can no longer accept the diminishing of that promise.

- George McGovern

Longer, Deeply, Diminishing, Presidency

It's a tough thing, to know what to do about a war that deep in your gut you feel is wrong and yet watch your peers going off to fight in that war.

- George McGovern

Deep, Going, Gut, Tough Thing

I think it was my study of history that convinced me that the Democratic Party was more on the side of the average American.

- George McGovern

Think, Study, Average, Democratic Party

It's nice not to have to worry about constituents.

- George McGovern

Worry, Nice, About, Constituents

I'm what a normal, healthy, ideal American should be like.

- George McGovern

Healthy, Like, Ideal, Normal

I move ahead, I live.

- George McGovern

Live, Move, Ahead

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