KADDISH FOR SENATOR GEORGE MCGOVERN
Once on my way to the Yankton Indian
Reservation in South Dakota, I was excited to see that the name of the next
town on the road was AVON.
Avon, South Dakota
I scratched my head and looked at the mist
of memories.
In the heady days of kindness towards others
in the world of politics, there was an international surge of Giants.Whitlam in
Australia, Trudeau in Canada, Manley in Jamaica…
And believe it or not, for someone growing
up in Australia, USA was represented in his mind by none other than George Mc
Govern born in 1922 at the village of Avon, South Dakota, son of a Methodist minister.
At one time he was the only senator with a PhD or other doctorate degree!
Later I arrived in the USA, to find a
country, too distant from the visions of Sen. George McGovern. What would have
happened if he had become the President? While visiting Yakima in the state of
Washington, Bernal B, a good friend of mine said: Justice Douglas, the most
liberal judge ever seated in the supreme court of America, had a great chance
of becoming the President…
Politics is such. Fake people become
leaders, with their polite talk and deceiving tongue.
I arrived in South Dakota on a flight from
Miami via Chicago. The young man who was the driver for the shuttle was from
California and was ignorant of the senator. I had chances to talk about him to
a couple of others I had a chance to meet that day. In this state that is so
conservative at the moment that it is hard to believe that it also gave birth
to Senator George McGovern.
Rest in Peace, Senator, your influence was
much greater than you could have ever imagined…Many in Australia saw in you the
hope and optimism and liberalism of what they considered to be the prime
qualities of America.
I shall say Kaddish for this gleam of light
from the Plains who shone so brightly for so many years. May his memory help
others remember, that this country holds great promise, the elections are very
close, don't be fooled by fake, insincere people who are more interested in
themselves and their ilk, than the welfare of the other half of the population….
