On Tuesday, June 8 Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills played host to a very distinguished guest when former US Senator George McGovern (D-SD) spoke to an audience of over one thousand admirers. His talk, although billed as “an evening with Sen. George McGovern and Abraham Lincoln,” covered several topics, only one of which was the nation’s sixteenth president.
In 2009, McGovern released his most recent book, “Abraham Lincoln.” The book is part of a series of short 150 page tomes on each president in our nation’s history, edited by famed historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. In the book, McGovern challenges a popular stereotype of Lincoln, the idea that his inspiring, eloquent speeches and his shrewd political skills came easily to him. In fact, Lincoln successes came despite two enormous personal difficulties: his lack of a formal education and his frequent bouts with depression, then commonly referred to as “melancholy.” With the help of his step mother while growing up, Lincoln learned the mechanics of reading and went on to develop a love for it as well as a passion for writing, much to the disapproval of his father.
The challenges presented by his periods of depression were especially taxing. At one point, Lincoln is said to have told a friend that he did not dare carry a knife; for fear that he may use it to commit suicide.
McGovern related this story to his own life. In 1994 his daughter Terry, who had long suffered from a combination of depression and alcoholism, fell into a snow bank on the campus of the University of Wisconsin and eventually succumbed to hypothermia. Soon after, McGovern wrote her biography and used the royalties to establish the Terry McGovern Center, a treatment facility for those suffering from alcoholism and mental health issues. In the years since, he has contributed all earnings from subsequent books to the Center.
McGovern also spoke of his lifelong crusade to reduce world hunger. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed him director of the newly created Food For Peace initiative, a program based on the belief that combating hunger in developing countries would reduce conflict for scarce resources and promote American interests abroad. Historians today view it as one of the most noteworthy achievements of the Kennedy administration.
McGovern also spoke briefly about his career in elective politics, particularly his unsuccessful White House bid in 1972. He conceded that mistakes were made, especially with regard to his selection of a running mate. The ensuing controversy proved to be a fatal distraction for the campaign.
After speaking, McGovern took questions submitted in advance by members of the audience. When asked what politician today most resembles Lincoln, he responded, “Barak Obama, in terms of his deep intellectual abilities and his sharp political skills.”
The last question, presented by Beth El’s senior rabbi, Daniel Syme asked McGovern how he would like to be remembered one hundred years from now. His simple, yet eloquent answer: “as someone who always said what he believed to be right and true.”
After his presentation, McGovern stayed to sign copies of his latest book.
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