Senator George McGovern

Senator McGovern was the 1972 Democratic candidate for President. His platform included abandoning the [unpopular] Vietnam War, slashing defense spending by at least one third - while the Cold War was still raging, and providing a guaranteed income to every American.

He lost to Richard Nixon by a landslide because he was, then, far too left wing and radical for the country. Among the accusations leveled at him - by an anonymous Democratic Senator - was that he stood for acid, amnesty (for draft evaders) and abortion. The loss of his Senate seat came in 1980 as a part of the Reagan Revolution.

Those of us who remember 1972 tend to dismiss the Senator as a raging lefty from whom the country was mercifully spared. In his retirement, however, he has said some things that I, a naturalized American who believes that we need a refresher course in the Declaration of Independence, much appreciate.

These quotes from Senator McGovern's March 7 article in the Wall Street Journal are worthy of extended contemplation:

"Since leaving office I've written about public policy from a new perspective: outside looking in. I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society."

and

"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.

Freedom is the foundation on which our country is built. Some members of the current administration, including the President, seem happy to trade our freedom for the illusion of security or the even greater illusion that we can, and should, be protected from our own mistakes, greed and misjudgements.

When we let them do that, we lose.