Family: Former Sen. George McGovern 'no longer responsive'
The family of ex-U.S. Sen. George McGovern says the 90-year-old is "no longer responsive" in hospice care.
McGovern's family issued a statement Wednesday afternoon through Avera McKennan Hospital.
His daughter, Ann McGovern, earlier told The Associated Press that her father is "nearing the end" and appears restful and peaceful. She says it's a blessing that she and other family members are able to be with him.
http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/17/14515260-family-former-sen-george-mcgovern-no-longer-responsive?lite
I hope the end is peaceful. 
= new reply since forum marked as read
... in which I was eligible to vote. I turned 20 two days after the election . McGovern was an inspirational figure for me, primarily because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. I still have the campaign button:
Two years earlier when I had turned 18 I was, of course, required to register for the draft. As part of my filing as a conscientious objector I included the following as documentation in my submission to the draft board in Illinois:
Charles Percy of Illinois concerning the Hatfield-McGovern Amendment to End the War.)
Sir:
I am writing to urge your support for a measure presently under
consideration in the Senate, the Amendment to End the War. This
amendment is the most meaningful step yet taken to extricate the
United States from a situation of unconscionable destruction and
waste. The war in Vietnam, like all wars, causes useless destruction
of human life and body. The mass murder which is war can never be
justifiably used as a means to political ends. The great evil
done by war to the human dignity and spirit of both victor and
victim is much too excessive a price to pay for insignificant gains
in world power. The erosion of human dignity caused by war
can destroy a nation far more quickly than any external enemy.
Furthermore, because war is a violent attempt to solve human problems ,
it can never succeed. Violence only broadens conflicts, breeding
more violence and never reaching a reasonable solution. For these
reasons, the war in Vietnam must stop.
The Hatfield-McGovern Amendment to End the War is a satisfactory
way of ending the Vietnam war. It provides adequate time for
withdrawal and for protection of American soldiers; yet, it also
commits us to ending the war and creates a greater impetus for a
rationally negotiated solution.
Thus, to stop the inhumane destruction of life and dignity, I urge
you to support the Amendment to End the War.
Of course, the amendment was defeated in September 1970 by a 55–39 vote. In preceding floor debate George McGovern had addressed his colleagues as follows (Wikipedia):
I rediscovered the copy of my conscientious objector filing only a few months ago. My mother had kept a copy and sent it to me sometime after my father died in 1988. Reading the five pages I had written over 40 years ago was an astounding experience. I felt I was reading the thoughts of a totally different person. I had been so strident and certain in my anti-war convictions. The lyrics of Dylan's My Back Pages came to mind -
Good and bad I defined these terms
Quite clear. No doubt. Somehow.
But I was so much older then.
I'm younger than that now.
Eighteen year-olds should not asked to fight the wars of old men. George McGovern got that right. Safe home, George.
