A Vietnam veteran, concerned for the Republic as Trump takes office, pens a Letter from Iowa to his children, family
BY RAY WALTON
Guest Column For The Iowa Mercury
INDIANOLA, Iowa —
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025
A letter to my family …
As Donald Trump takes the oath of office again today, we are faced with critical choices as Americans. He was duly elected, having won the Electoral College and the popular vote. He is constitutionally qualified to be President. He is our President.
As Americans we are obligated to support our government. We must obey its laws, pay our taxes, and serve in the military if called upon to do so. We must not undermine the basic tenants of the Republic; Equality under the law. All are created equal and deserve an equal opportunity. We must honor and respect our nation’s ideals, especially in times when they are challenged, either by foreign agents or from within our own shores.
President Trump will take actions that we should support and endorse. We need not do so apologetically. When he deserves our support we should be visible and vocal in giving it.
It is certain he will take actions that counter our long-held beliefs in the areas of personal privacy and freedom. He will likely hurt the most disadvantaged in our midst. When he ignores the Constitution, we must hold him to account.
It will be hard for us to effectively speak up and speak out. Our voices are small. We do not have enormous political power. Our words will not be on the nightly news.
What we each have are reputations for fairness, honesty, and a willingness to help people in need. We are not seen as selfish people who only favor things that benefit us to the exclusion of others. Our voices have credibility even among those with whom we disagree. We need, in thoughtful, reserved tones, to give rise to those voices when we see our leaders act in ways that detract from our national ideals.
We were not a nation that rose to power based on an aristocracy or oligarchy.
We are a nation, during much of our history, that welcomed immigrants with a promise of opportunity through hard work and commitment.
There has been an enduring hope from generation to generation, that those that follow will do better. We must not abandon that hope. We must do all in our power to make it reality.
So as we start this chapter of our nation’s story I ask you to “keep that hope alive,” speak out against hate and injustice. Lift your neighbor up when they need it. Speak warmly but firmly in your dissent with public policies you know to be wrong.
These are dark days. I am more concerned for the vitality of the Republic than I have ever been.
Even with those concerns, I trust and rely on you.
You are smart.
You are resilient.
Each of you have gotten through difficult times. You never gave up. Don’t give up now.
Do all in your power to preserve, protect and defend this great nation.
Love, Dad
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
(Ray Walton was born and raised in Iowa. He graduated from Simpson College with a degree in History following service in the Army Security Agency. He served in Vietnam and at the National Security Agency.
Walton worked in the insurance industry and with a family firm involved in construction, retail, a truck stop and apartment management. In addition he worked for then Congressman Tom Harkin.
In the early 1980s Ray joined General Growth Properties, a shopping center company. His responsibilities over the years included operations, leasing, marketing, financing and value creation at more than 100 centers across the U.S.
In 2008 Iowa Governor Chet Culver asked Ray to join the administration and his cabinet. Walton directed the Department of Administrative Services.
During that time the National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) asked Walton to serve on their Board of Directors.
Upon his retirement from the state of Iowa in 2011, NASCA asked Ray to become their Executive Director. He served several years in that capacity.
Upon his retirement from NASCA he was honored when the Walton National Leadership Award was created to recognize innovation and leadership by a state chief administrator.
Ray was the Interim Director for the Culver Center at Simpson College in 2013.
In addition he has served on numerous Boards and Commissions including a recently completed 6 year term with the Iowa Radio Reading Information Service, a not for profit organization that provides audio services for print impaired or visually challenged people.
He served as the Interim Executive Director of the Harkin Institute at Drake University in 2022 and 2023. He currently chairs the Harkin Institute National Advisory Council.
Ray and Joanne have been married for 55 years and are parents of six children. They are active in community and state matters in Iowa where they reside.)
About The Iowa Mercury
(Douglas Burns, founder of The Iowa Mercury and a fourth-generation Iowa journalist from Carroll, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Read dozens of the most talented writers in Iowa in just one place. The Iowa Writers' Collaborative spans the full state. It’s one of the biggest things going in Iowa journalism and writing now — and you don’t want to miss. This collaborative is — as the outstanding Quad Cities journalist Ed Tibbetts says — YOUR SUNDAY IOWA newspaper. )
Thank you for your service to our country, Ray. Thank you for sharing the thoughtful advice you gave to your family. We can all benefit from reading your words.
Well put Ray, thanks for sharing, a lot of us share your concerns and have shared the same in our own families.