--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From secrecy and deception in high…" description: "\"From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.\" — Ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/george-mcgovern-3955_america_from-secrecy-and-deception-in-high-place_2714428.png" --- # From secrecy and deception in high places, come home… ![“From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.” quote by George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/george-mcgovern-3955_america_from-secrecy-and-deception-in-high-place_2714428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/george-mcgovern-3955_america_from-secrecy-and-deception-in-high-place_2714428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/george-mcgovern-3955_america_from-secrecy-and-deception-in-high-place_2714428.png) > “From secrecy and deception in high places, come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, come home, America.” [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critique of secrecy, wasteful military spending, and calls for national focus. **In simple terms:** Demand transparency and cut wasteful defense spending. Key Takeaway Advocate for honest, efficient governance. Themes politics anti‑war budget public accountability military spending transparency Mood concerned hopeful Type activist policy When to use this quote - budget hearings - policy debates - public petitions Key Concepts fiscal responsibility national priorities peace advocacy Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives to current defense spending exist? - How can citizens influence military budgets? A Different Perspective Excessive spending can compromise security if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-military-242749/) [Come home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-home/) [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) [Deception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/) [High places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-places/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-spending/) [Nation Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-come-984981/) [Secrecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrecy/) [Spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending/) [Weakens Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakens-nation-2833695/) ## Related quotes > [From secrecy and deception in high places; come home, America. From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation; come home, America. From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/from-secrecy-and-deception-in-high-places-come-home-america-from/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [Our nation must come together as only Americans can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-young/our-nation-must-come-together-as-only-americans-can/) [Todd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-young/) > [Our nation must come together to unite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/our-nation-must-come-together-to-unite/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Come home to the affirmation that we have a dream. Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward. Come home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/come-home-to-the-affirmation-that-we-have-a-dream-come-home-to-the/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [The former West Germany was a semi-sovereign political pygmy, protected by America's military might and with barely any foreign policy of its own. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zanny-minton-beddoes/the-former-west-germany-was-a-semi-sovereign-political-pygmy/) [Zanny Minton Beddoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zanny-minton-beddoes/) > [ America's military is the best in the world, but this president \[Barack Obama\] is hollowing out our military. We need a commander in chief… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/america-s-military-is-the-best-in-the-world-but-this-president-barack/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [“We the people are the United States of America. Not the military, not Washington, DC, not the president, not the Congress. They all work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-foster/we-the-people-are-the-united-states-of-america-not-the-military-not/) [Mike Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-foster/) > [Kirtland Air Force Base has proven itself an asset to the mission of U.S. Space Force. The work happening in New Mexico helps provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-ray-lujan/kirtland-air-force-base-has-proven-itself-an-asset-to-the-mission-of/) [Ben Ray Lujan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-ray-lujan/) > [I will never back down from the radical left, and I will always put America and our military first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-never-back-down-from-the-radical-left-and-i-will-always-put/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [Don't disparage America's military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/don-t-disparage-america-s-military/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [To protect America's security, we are going to have to pull America's military out of the swamp of Washington politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-thornberry/to-protect-america-s-security-we-are-going-to-have-to-pull-america-s/) [Mac Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-thornberry/) > [When you talk about the security and safety of average Americans it doesn't do average Americans a lot of good to expand America's military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-beinart/when-you-talk-about-the-security-and-safety-of-average-americans-it/) [Peter Beinart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-beinart/) > [“As great as the all-volunteer force had been under Ronald Reagan, that force had always been a mighty war ax, something designed to smite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-phillips/as-great-as-the-all-volunteer-force-had-been-under-ronald-reagan-that/) [Richard Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-phillips/) > [As for Vietnam, what matters is that Kennedy successfully resisted pressure to send anything more than military advisers, a stance that was a likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/as-for-vietnam-what-matters-is-that-kennedy-successfully-resisted/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [America's military is second to none in the world. We're blessed with terrific soldiers, and extraordinary technology and intelligence. But the idea of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/america-s-military-is-second-to-none-in-the-world-we-re-blessed-with/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) ## More by George McGovern > [Every Senator in this Chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This Chamber reeks of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/every-senator-in-this-chamber-is-partly-responsible-for-sending-50/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I always thought of myself as a moderate liberal, a fighter for peace and justice. I never thought of myself as being all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-moderate-liberal-a-fighter-for-peace/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I was tired. I hadn't slept eight hours in two, three years. I lived on four, five hours of sleep. You can do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-was-tired-i-hadn-t-slept-eight-hours-in-two-three-years-i-lived-on/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-did-frequently-refer-to-my-war-record-in-world-war-ii-but-not-in/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [It's a tough thing, to know what to do about a war that deep in your gut you feel is wrong and yet watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/it-s-a-tough-thing-to-know-what-to-do-about-a-war-that-deep-in-your/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I'm what a normal, healthy, ideal American should be like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-m-what-a-normal-healthy-ideal-american-should-be-like/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-m-fed-up-to-the-ears-with-old-men-dreaming-up-wars-for-young-men-to/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-good-old-south-dakota-boy-who-grew-up/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I always thought of myself as a good old South Dakota boy who grew up here on the prairie. My dad was a Methodist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-good-old-south-dakota-boy-who-grew-up-2/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [Above all, being a Democrat means having compassion for others. ... It means standing up for people who have been kept down ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/above-all-being-a-democrat-means-having-compassion-for-others-it/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [I am fed up with a system which busts the pot smoker and lets the big dope racketeer go free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-am-fed-up-with-a-system-which-busts-the-pot-smoker-and-lets-the-big/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [To those who charge that liberalism has been tried and found wanting, I answer that the failure is not in the idea, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/to-those-who-charge-that-liberalism-has-been-tried-and-found-wanting/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [When I was a youngster growing up in South Dakota, we never referred to the national debt, it was always referred to as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/when-i-was-a-youngster-growing-up-in-south-dakota-we-never-referred/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [ I still love to go back to Mitchell \[his home town\] and wander up and down those streets. It just kind of reassures me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-still-love-to-go-back-to-mitchell-his-home-town-and-wander-up-and/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [Truth is a habit of integrity, not a strategy of politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/truth-is-a-habit-of-integrity-not-a-strategy-of-politics/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) [Explore all 118 George McGovern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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