Ambassador George McGovern was recognized by AAAP with its public servant Founders’ Award for the book he wrote about his daughter, Terry, and his efforts to destigmatize the problem of alcoholism and its treatment. This meeting coincides with the anniversary of her death from alcoholism.

    Ambassador McGovern has a distinguished career. Recently appointed as United Nations World Food Program Special Ambassador, his public service began in 1956 when elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota. In 1960, he was appointed the first director of the U.S. Food for Peace Program. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, 1968 and 1974, he served on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and the Joint Economic Committee. He was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, which developed the highly regarded "Dietary Goals for the American People. In 2000, Ambassador McGovern received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award as well as the Food for Life Award.

    McGovern has been married to the former Eleanor Stegeberg of South Dakota since 1943. The McGoverns have five children and ten grandchildren.

    December 13, 1994 was the saddest day of my and my family’s life. I was in Washington, D.C. and relaxing at night when the doorbell rang; through the windows alongside the door, I saw a policeman on one side and a clergyman on the other side. Teresa Jane was found dead that day, frozen to death apparently heavily intoxicated. I was frozen, stunned. Since then I have looked more carefully at the 15-20 million addicted persons.

Terry had a double burden to carry. Since she was a teenager, Terry suffered from clinical depression. This was always a paradox to me. She was witty and funny.

    While attending the University of Virginia she was in psychoanalysis for most of the time (1969-1973) under the care of Dr. Vamik Volkan, with whom she met almost daily and whom she came to trust. At that time in our thinking about alcoholism, most psychiatrists did not believe that alcohol was the root cause of the problem; rather that depression was the result of psychological factors and childhood experiences.

    We aren’t sure whether alcohol was ever discussed with her doctors. Over time, her use of alcohol increased. Terry went to her grave adoring and respecting Dr. Volkan who, I later learned, she would periodically call. Upon learning of Terry’s death, Dr. Volkan described her as a good, decent, kind, compassionate, and intelligent person.

Since then we realized that alcoholism has a genetic component and that genetic/hereditary factors are very important. In tracing our family back to Ireland, there is a long history of alcoholism. Two of my five children are alcoholics as are so many of our fellow citizens.

    Through AA, and treatment in some of the best programs in the country, Terry never gave up her struggle against alcoholism. She studied religions; she never gave up. During her eight years of sobriety she fell in love and had two little girls whom she adored. But relapse always occurred and became more frequent with the passage of time. She was admitted and released from the Tellurian detox program in Madison, Wisconsin 68 times in the four years prior to her death. The only kind of food or liquid her body recognized was alcohol.

    After her last release, she said that she wouldn’t drink, and if she felt the desire would contact a counselor. However, she met a young man, a Vietnam war veteran who had become a close friend, a drinking buddy, and they decided to have "one more drink"—a vodka on the rocks—one Christmas toast. Three hours later, when they would not serve her anymore (approximately 9-9:30 p.m.), she walked a half a block and stumbled into an alley, fell into a snow drift and was found at noon the next day frozen to death.

    Since that time I have resolved to try to shed more light on alcoholism and its frequent twin, clinical depression, and to arouse more concern about alcoholism. It is a terrible affliction in the United States. Mr. Gorbachev, in a Moscow press conference shortly before he left office said that the number one (#1) problem is vodka—alcoholism. When asked whether he meant that it was the #1 health problem, he replied, "No! It is the #1 health, social, economic, family, and national security problem." This may not be true in the United States at the present time; but it is the #1 health and family problem and the #1 reason why people die on the highways and are in jail; it is also a major factor in crime.

    I have come here to thank you, the members of this Academy, for your work and I will continue to speak out. I don’t have all of the answers, but I can perhaps help in getting needed research funds.

    I would now like to turn to something else that affects all of us and all of our thoughts. The problem is identified as terrorism. One can’t visit New York without being painfully aware of the terrible vacancy in the skyline. I fully support the Administration’s efforts to seek out the terrorists responsible for murdering several thousand innocent Americans and those from 79 other countries. The buildings truly were a world trade center. This is an entirely different challenge from Vietnam where we were the only foreigners in the midst of a deep internal family struggle. No Americans had been threatened in Vietnam. This time, the killers came to our shores and killed innocent Americans; we have no choice but to seek them out!

    A great tragedy can produce useful side benefits although it in no way justifies the actions. I believe these side benefits include:

• Our country has become united in a way not seen since Pearl Harbor. In New York City, residents are kinder to each other, are more sharing, and more aware of their common humanity.

• We now see countries that have been kicking us around verbally offering sympathy and support. For example, Pakistan is offering use of their airspace and land for staging areas for special forces. While in Africa, every country I visited expressed sympathy and support. They are seeing the United States, in many cases for the first time, in a different way: our humanity, suffering, loss, and vulnerability.

• A third, harder to grasp, benefit is the question whether it is possible that from this terrible tragedy we may take a more thoughtful, penetrating look at the world in which we live? Will we look more carefully at the one-half of the world who live in poverty? Will we look more searchingly at the 800 million who are hungry every day? At the vast numbers, especially girls who are illiterate—the mothers of the next generation? Is it possible that the most powerful country on the planet will think about being vulnerable in certain areas because of the nature of the world around us?

    In my travels, I am asked why do young people hate us so much that they will fly an airplane into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center knowing they will be the first to die? Why do they believe that this is the best way to get into heaven? Is it possible that Osama Bin Laden’s ability to recruit thousands of young people successfully stems in part from the fact that there are millions who don’t see much hope, who feel they are powerless to get out of their situation? For example, the wide disparity between the extremely wealthy ruling class and the masses in many countries becomes more obvious when the masses see how others live via television and the Internet. Combine these visions with their own sense of helplessness and powerlessness, and one has to recognize that this may have some bearing on the growing problems of terrorism around the world.

    This is no excuse for these tragic events. But to understand the roots of that anger that erupts in the form of terrorism, and to understand some of this effort to break out of this sense of hopelessness and helplessness, there are people in this world who on seeing the World Trade Center attacks may have had the thought cross their mind: "Maybe it is not hopeless, maybe I am not helpless, maybe there is hope for the future. These terrorist leaders can offer some way to say ‘we count’."

    We need to go beyond the bombing to address the problems that afflict Afghanistan and other countries. The President asked for $20 billion to fight terrorism; Congress responded with $40 billion! Former Senator Bob Dole and I have joined forces requesting that the Bush Administration take $5 billion of the money allocated for terrorism and spread it out over the next five years, to reduce hunger and poverty in the world. We would challenge the rest of the world to match this amount using the United Nations contribution formula (United States—25%; the rest of the world—75%) for a total of $20 billion. Over five years, $4 billion a year would assure that every school child would receive a nutritious lunch every day—300 million children go to school without food. We are asking that a program similar to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in the United States be established providing nutritional supplements for poor, nursing, and pregnant women and children up to age five. If others observe the improvement in learning and health, it may reduce the attraction of terrorism.

    In 1972, I spoke to the National Convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was recommended that I use a quote from Luke: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

    That same day in Washington, I said, "In Washington, D.C., someday I hope to proclaim the gospel to the poor. In Washington, D.C., someday I hope to heal the brokenhearted. In Washington, D.C., someday I hope to preach deliverance to the captives. In Washington, D.C., someday I hope to set at liberty them who are bruised. In Washington, D.C., someday I hope to call this troubled nation home to the ideals of justice, dignity and freedom that built the American nation!" The audience response was "That’s it."

    I still think "That’s it." I think we need to consider even in our sorrow, grief and sense of loss, and maybe our anger, some of the things that we might do around this world that would make us all happier and more secure.

    In response to a question from the audience on how can we mount a campaign to achieve parity for substance abuse treatment, Ambassador McGovern suggested that AAAP needs to get Congress and the Administration to join with it to achieve parity for substance abuse. Don’t underestimate the importance of one single, thoughtful well-written letter to your Senator and Congressman. A letter coming from individual members of this association, who write in their words and with their own reasons as to why this makes sense, is effective.

    Follow it up with a request for an appointment.