Letter from the Director: One Magnificent Wish Vol. 137, November 2024

By  Renée Tillotson

Before my father passed three days ago on November 1, 2024, he made sure to mail in his ballot as his last act of political self-determination.

As I sit here reflecting on my dad’s passing at this pivotal moment in our country’s history, I know that he fervently wished that we would each cast our vote in this election.

Like my dad, Ray Auker, I sincerely hope you are voting tomorrow.

Although it may seem outlandish and extreme for me to say this to you in our “land of the free and home of the brave”, I want to tell you that in my dad’s 94 years’ life study and involvement in American politics and government, and my own 68 years of experience, this is a moment of great urgency. Dad told me he had never seen a presidential election as vital to the preservation of America’s democracy as tomorrow’s.

At Still & Moving Center, we encourage everyone to “Claim your magnificence.” In that spirit, I want to exercise my American right to free speech while I know I still have it before tomorrow’s election. I’m deeply concerned that by the 2028 presidential election – if there is one – I might face Still & Moving Center losing its right to do business if I freely express my views.

Dad’s faith in our country’s democratic system of government came from comparing it with every other system that ever came before it and with most other systems today. Having visited so many other countries of the world, he knew very well not to take for granted our open elections, our peaceful transitions of power, our protected rights and freedoms. He saw so many people who did not enjoy our freedom of religion, our right to free speech, to a free press, and the right to assemble. People in those repressive countries cannot protest against the government without the fear of disappearing without a trace.

My father read extensively, keeping up with national and global events. He well understood the existing problems we have been working on in America. And yet he saw in countries with dictatorships or authoritarian regimes how important it was that no one stands above the law.

As it is now, one of our presidential candidates is intimidating the free press, an essential element in any democracy. He is making threats to rescind the business licenses of various media outlets. Recently, the owners of the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times – both traditionally liberal papers that have boldly endorsed presidential candidates for decades up until now – decided for the first time NOT to endorse any presidential candidate. Ironically, The Washington Post’s motto is “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. I wonder whether that owner felt enough financial fear of the said candidate to let his paper’s “light” go out. You can read The Guardian’s report on October 27, 2024: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/oct/27/bezos-washington-post-non-endorsement-election

Meanwhile, the same presidential candidate packed the Supreme Court with hand-picked Justices when he previously held the office of President. That Court’s majority has recently determined, basically, that the President is above the laws of the land, and that none of a President’s official acts can be challenged. Link to Court’s decision of Absolute Immunity: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

I shake with fear that this ruling may easily pave the way to our American democracy becoming a dictatorship. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren summarizes the import of the decision here: https://lofgren.house.gov/media/press-releases/lofgren-statement-us-supreme-courts-presidential-immunity-decision#:~:text=The%20Court%20declared%20that%20a,merely%20a%20defense%20to%20prosecution.

Given that Supreme Court decision, a president out for revenge is a dangerous President. One of the presidential candidates has targeted many enemies. [Link] https://npr.org/2024/10/21/nx-s1-5134924/trump-election-2024-kamala-harris-elizabeth-cheney-threat-civil-liberties

My dad, who truly worked to bring better conditions for all underprivileged people, and who came from a poor white working family himself, knew better than to trust the self-serving lies of a candidate who has shown that he cares for no one but himself.

It’s time for people to vote for truth, for the people, for continuing a democracy that includes all of us, even though we are still a democracy in progress that still has a lot to work on.

The opposing candidate, by contrast, is a woman of color who has honestly served the public for her entire career. She honors the rights and freedoms of all Americans, and she has threatened no one with revenge once she is voted into office. She does not seek dictator status, nor has she cozied up to the world’s biggest authoritarian power players: Russia and China.

She honors our allies seeking to preserve their democracies while strengthening our own, rather than tearing it apart. I believe her when she says that she seeks to represent and help ALL the people. Her service over the decades supports that view. My dad held that same conviction.

Dad was a true patriot. Not the flag-waving kind,but the kind that felt that America had an important role to play in the world, setting the example as a true democracy, and helping out wherever our vast resources are needed by others. He donated to over a hundred charities, many international.

When it came to differing from official governmental policy, Dad fearlessly exercised his right to hold and state his own opinion. Dad felt that it was our citizens’ duty to protest against our government’s ill-advised war in Vietnam. He and my mom took me with my little brother to anti-war rallies and peace concerts with Pete Seegar and Joan Baez.

He was an outspoken supporter of the Civil Rights movement, even when some aspects of the US government were seeking to undermine it. Mom and he had faith that rights would prevail in this country of America, and that the Supreme Court would ultimately stop segregation and the blocking of Black people’s right to vote – which it did. He absolutely believed in and lived by the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “All men are created equal.”

He realized from his background of coming from a proud, dirt-scratching farm family, that we can make something of ourselves when we work hard – often with the help and support of others, such as the scholarship that put him through college as the first person in his family to do so.

My dad also realized that we are a country of immigrants, voluntarily or by force – all of us except the indigenous peoples. As such, we make up a beautiful tapestry of strengths and talents from our differing traditions. Traveling broadly, Dad visited every continent except Antarctica, making friends wherever he went. He celebrated our country’s rich varied cultural makeup – counting people from diverse races and ethnicities as his closest friends and even family members.

He knew the power of the government’s good work, such as President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, which he was hired to work on. As a federal employee, for example, he helped to set up Head Start programs for underprivileged pre-schoolers in the Western states.

He knew – with all of our mistakes and problems here in the US – how good we have it. And he was deeply afraid that we may be on the brink of throwing it all away.

Dad would want us to vote in this election. The last thing I did before flying out to see Dad one last time, was to fill in my mail-in ballot and sign the envelope for Cliff to drop off for Tuesday’s election. I got back to Hawaii in time last night to drop it into the ballot box myself.

Our votes count as they have never counted before in America. Today we can vote freely, with the privacy of casting our secret ballot, known only to us. Today, at least, we can vote for the candidate of our choice, without fear of punishment. So whoever your candidate may be, Dad would want you to cast your ballot.

Dad left wanting the best for all of us into the future. And he was counting on each of us to make that happen.

Let’s vote!