The Essential America : Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition

Rating:
Summary: The Great Liberal Classic Everyone Must Read--167pages
Review: Essential Reading - Optimistic, Historical and Enjoyable

The 167 pages are easy and enjoyable reading. Buy several copies as gifts for all your friends and neighbors, especially young people.
The elder statesman explains how the search for the just society and a moral foreign policy based on reason and enlightened self-interest has been an essential part of the American quest from the beginning. Recognizing that both conservatism and liberalism are essential elements of the American tradition, he invites the reader to apply the principles of our nation's founding fathers to such issues as diverse as the Israel-Palestinian conflict, health care in America and hunger throughout the world.
The counsel of history helps inspire his opposition to never ending unwinnable wars that only prolong and worsen human agony producing uncontrollable results that frequently inflame whole regions to catastrophe; isolate America, weaken our own security and undermine our national interests as well as our values.
In spite of his crushing 1972 defeat (38% of the popular vote) at the hands of the Nixon campaign which was rooted in a criminal conspiracy and more recently; the rise to dominance of the radical right and their dangerous policies, this old historian's optimism is infectious. He reminds the reader that ideological blindness will not dominate forever. He predicts that liberalism will play a far greater role in the next 25 years than it did in the past 25 years. Perhaps genuine conservatism will also make a come-back.
This great man's compassion finds inspiration in the Methodism of John Wesley as well as the Christian social gospel which considers the search for social justice a natural expression of personal salvation.
One is struck by his bottomless well of charity and kindness even to his political adversaries. He even makes a point to praise Richard Nixon for launching the Environmental Protection Agency, supporting civil rights and opening the door to China.

(May I also recommend his 1978 autobiography, "Grassroots"?)

In the U.S. Senate, George McGovern was a brilliant bipartisan visionary who joined forces with his good friend and senatorial colleague, Robert Dole in skillfully crafting, maneuvering, legislating and implementing the most massive assault on malnutrition in American history. He stresses that liberalism needs conservatives to point out its weaknesses and minimize its excesses. Both political philosophies have been with our Republic since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson bitterly battled with each other in an ideologically divided young nation. Both philosophies have redefined themselves numerous times as history developed. Both are as American as can be.
Certain snobbish and mean-spirited know-it-alls have twisted and spun and rewritten reality in a desperate and pathetic effort to make the good name of George McGovern synonymous with 1960's counterculture chaos and confusion and to blame monstrous results of monstrously misguided and long discredited policies on voices of reason and balance.
President Eisenhower thought a lot of George McGovern; and so did Barry Goldwater and countless other thinking conservatives who knew him well--many of whom remain his close friends to this day.
The real George McGovern is the son of a small-town Wesleyan Methodist minister. He was a World War II bomber pilot and real hero who learned the difference between reality and storybooks. He has spent his life as a tireless humanitarian who never suffers compassion fatigue, a passionate defender of rural American family life, a dedicated history teacher with a critical mind, a consummate listener, reader and deep thinker and a true Christian gentleman.
George McGovern comes straight from the heart and soul of America. And his voice speaks from the conscience of a kinder, gentler, older and wiser America.

The last two pages of this wonderful little book contain the closing lines of his acceptance speech 32 years ago at the Democratic National Convention. *This time. Let's listen...

"And this is the time. It is the time for this land to become again a witness to the world for what is noble and just in human affairs. It is the time to live more with faith and less with fear- with an abiding confidence that can sweep away the strongest barriers between us and teach us that we truly are brothers and sisters.
So join with me in this campaign. Lend me your strength and your support-and together, we will call America home to the ideals that nourished us in the beginning.
From secrecy, and deception in high places, come home, America.
From a conflict in Indochina which maims our ideals as well as our soldiers, come home, America.
From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.
From the entrenchment of special privilege and tax favoritism-
From the waste of idle hands to the joy of useful labor-
From the prejudice of race and sex-
From the loneliness of the aging poor and the despair of the neglected sick, come home, America.
Come home to the affirmation that we have a dream.
Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward.
Come home to the belief that we can seek a newer world.
And let us be joyful in the homecoming, for:' this land is your land, this land is my land. From California to the New York Islands. From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters. This land was made for you and me.'
May God grant us the wisdom to cherish this good land and to meet the great challenge that beckons us home.
This is the time."

(Be sure to see the new documentary "One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern," which records Sen. McGovern's 1972 candidacy for the Presidency. The documentary uses interviews with figures such as Gloria Steinem, Gore Vidal, and Warren Beatty. It is directed by Stephen Vittoria).)












Rating:
Summary: Essential, good common sense
Review: George McGovern has always been a voice of reason and it's good to see he's still around and speaking out about things that are great about America and things at which cause us concern as a nation. You won't find many neocons reading "The Essential America" because they've "written" their own book on this country...and gotten us into a lot of trouble because of it. McGovern points out that so much of America's spending is in non-productive areas....much of it in defense that has produced us with little tangible results over the past fifty years. He rightly concludes that the current president and his ilk in Washington have not made the United States any safer in the world, but more vulnerable, given the needless foray into Iraq and the even larger question of the uneven tilt toward Israel. We'll be paying the price for those mistakes for ages to come.

Senator McGovern speaks of his war service in this book but does so humbly and with many references about what patriotism should be. He reminds us of the hollow phrase, "America...love it or leave it" and echoes his own words from 1972...."let us change America, so we can love it the more." I hope this is a fitting prelude to the defeat of George Bush in November...or to put it more liberally...erasing America's mistake. "The Essential America" provides a ringing endorsement of the liberal tradition in this country and it is a book that is definitely worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: George McGovern's Common Sense Is Back
Review: George McGovern's, The Essential America, is a candid, refreshingly-honest discussion of American liberalism, today's "most maligned political philosophy." This great American statesman tackles the criticisms of liberalism head-on, and clearly demonstrates how both the liberal and conservative traditions have evolved and eroded politically. George McGovern remains ever-faithful to the "social gospel," teachings instilled in him at any early age by his father, a devoted follower of John Wesley. Moreover, McGovern's political beliefs are soundly and squarely rooted in the U.S. Constitution.
McGovern remains unafraid to espouse liberalism--whether it be Jefferson's, Lincoln's, or his own. In so doing, he demonstrates how far America has strayed from the brilliant guidance of our founding fathers. He addresses all of the toughest issues of our day, including the war in Iraq, world hunger, and, of course, international terrorism.
This is a book only George McGovern could have written--specific, thoughtful, provocative-- a blueprint for a wiser, stronger American future in a more peaceful world.

Rating:
Summary: George McGovern's Common Sense Is Back
Review: George McGovern's, The Essential America, is a candid, refreshingly-honest discussion of American liberalism, today's "most maligned political philosophy." This great American statesman tackles the criticisms of liberalism head-on, and clearly demonstrates how both the liberal and conservative traditions have evolved and eroded politically. George McGovern remains ever-faithful to the "social gospel," teachings instilled in him at any early age by his father, a devoted follower of John Wesley. Moreover, McGovern's political beliefs are soundly and squarely rooted in the U.S. Constitution.
McGovern remains unafraid to espouse liberalism--whether it be Jefferson's, Lincoln's, or his own. In so doing, he demonstrates how far America has strayed from the brilliant guidance of our founding fathers. He addresses all of the toughest issues of our day, including the war in Iraq, world hunger, and, of course, international terrorism.
This is a book only George McGovern could have written--specific, thoughtful, provocative-- a blueprint for a wiser, stronger American future in a more peaceful world.

Rating:
Summary: Just an old has been pushing old ideas
Review: No one bought George McGovern's ideas 30 years ago and their not selling today. Like Alexander von Stahl of Germany once said: "Liberalism in not a vision of the future, but a failed illusion of the past, once called Marxism." I think it's time for the senile old fart to retire to the "home."

Rating:
Summary: An ambitious plan, though realizing it would be a challenge.
Review: The central theme of this slim volume is similar to other recent political books by Robert Reich and James Carville. Says McGovern, not "a single federal program now generally approved by both of our major parties . . . was not first pushed by liberals over the opposition of conservatives." While there are a couple of surprises here, the author's devotion to this central tenet of liberalism - - not all that government does is bad - - isn't. This is not to say that the book is uninteresting.

Chapter One starts off with a ten-page synopsis of the some of the key ideas of the founding fathers. Their commitment to a separation between church and state is there, for example. After that, we are treated to a critique of the current administration that reads not unlike what we've seen in other places.

The former senator and presidential candidate gives a fair amount of print to praising Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower. While Ike was hardly known for progressive social policies, McGovern notes that he towed the line on military spending. The author uses the former president's often quoted lines about the military-industrial complex to back up his point. The fact that both men thought highly of one another made for an interesting side note.

McGovern proposes a laundry list of social programs to solve society's problems. While most of them seem sensible, they are presented in a scatological manner. The senator devotes a couple of pages to upgrading our aging rail system. He proposes gradually expanding Medicare to cover the entire uninsured population, in all age groups. At several points he addresses the treatment of alcoholism, a subject close to his heart since the untimely death of his daughter to alcohol poisoning.

The author addresses the fiscal implications of launching so many government initiatives at one time. But his explanation is short and won't satisfy many. In particular, fans of the Bush tax cut will be put off by the complete roll back of that plan. In addition, it's hard to imagine that halving military spending will be a popular notion.

McGovern comes across as a cantankerous octogenarian at a few points, once railing against the infringements on his privacy allowed by the USA Patriot Act. He promises to push federal agents back through the door if they ever come for him after reading his private records. This makes for a brief moment of comic relief.

A problem with the book is that it just doesn't offer much that can't be found in other places. He also doesn't seem to have a realistic path for accomplishing his goals. On the other hand he is clearly a man who loves his county and has great optimism for its future. In the end, one has to agree with his assessment of the wisdom of the people: In spite of the fact that they didn't choose him in 1972, they usually get it right, he reasons.

Rating:
Summary: A Timely Defense of Liberalism
Review: The term "liberal" has been a dirty word ever since Ronald Reagan referred to it as the "L" word. In this timely book by former Senator and 1972 Democratic nominee for president, George McGovern, a cogent defense of this much maligned philosophy is offered. Liberalism, not conservatism, is the true compassionate political philosophy, and McGovern defends it masterfully. In my opinion the best quote in the book comes from chapter 3 where McGovern points out the obvious difference between the liberal and conservative view on the role of government: "I challenge my conservative friends to name a single federal program now generally approved by both of our major parties that was not first pushed by liberals over the opposition of conservatives." McGovern cites Social Security and Medicare as two of the best known examples, but I can think of a number of others such as the FDIC, the SEC, Head Start, just to name a few.

But perhaps the most important message in this book is that America should return to those ideals that once made it the most respected and envied country in the world: compassion, decency, and respect for the opinions of mankind. By doing this the United States could begin to win the war on terror and recapture its position as the most respected and admired nation in the world. Such a scenario would produce the cooperation and goodwill necessary to defeat the menace of terrorism. This message is needed now more than ever. I highly recommend this wonderful little book.