I was the guy who was constantly speaking out against the Vietnam War. I have no regrets about that.
Every Senator in this Chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This Chamber reeks of blood.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote implies that Senators bear responsibility for the deaths of young Americans, suggesting a moral failure in political decisions.
George McGovern's quote emphasizes the heavy burden of responsibility that elected officials hold for the consequences of their actions and decisions. By stating that the Chamber 'reeks of blood,' he provocatively illustrates the idea that legislative choices can lead to dire and tragic outcomes, particularly in the context of war and military intervention, thereby calling attention to the moral implications of political leadership.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a political debate, you might quote McGovern to highlight the gravity of legislative decisions affecting soldiers.
More from George Mcgovern
All quotes βPay attention to the hungry, both in this country and around the world. Pay attention to the poor. Pay attention to our responsibilities for world peace. We are our brother's keeper.
The nature of freedom of choice is that some people will misuse their responsibility and hurt themselves in the process. We should do our best to educate them, but without diminishing choice for everyone else.
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.
I hope I live long enough to see every hungry school child in the world being fed under the so-called McGovern-Dole program.
From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.
Similar quotes
What the poor, the weak, and the inarticulate desperately require is power, organization, and a sense of identity and purpose, not rarefied advice of political scientists.
President Bush has asserted the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on any American without a warrant in the name of fighting terrorism. He has asserted presidential power beyond stated constitutional rights, and there is no Republican gutsy enough to call his hand.
One of the statistics that always amazes me is the approval of the Chinese government, not elected, is over 80 percent. The approval of the U.S. government, fully elected, is 19 percent. Well, we elected these people and they didn't elect those people. Isn't it supposed to be different? Aren't we supposed to like the people that we elected?
First of all, the world criticizes American foreign policy because Americans criticize American foreign policy. We shouldn't be surprised about that. Criticizing government is a God-given right - at least in democracies.
Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, and from under the eye of their constituents, must, from the circumstance of distance, be unable to administer and overlook all the details necessary for the good government of the citizens; and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite public agents to corruption, plunder and waste.
Whenever anything extraordinary is done in American municipal politics, whether for good or for evil, you can trace it almost invariably to one man. The people do not do it. Neither do the 'gangs,' 'combines,' or political parties.