Kitchen Table Activism

Background: Kitchen Table Activism (KTA) is a monthly project of the Rural Organizing Project. Often building on quarterly themes, short actions are described in each KTA. The theory is that basic steps and tasks can lead to powerful collective results as small groups of people gather to complete the same action throughout the state of Oregon.

ROP works to keep the basic tasks easily achievable so that groups with other projects or groups with limited immediate energy can still manage to complete the KTA each month.

August 2006 Activity

A Date with Accountability: CO$T of War Vigils 

WHAT IS THE ACTIVITY?  

Accounting for the Co$t of War includes recognizing the lives lost and those injured during the occupation in Iraq.  For the last 19 days, Alternative to War 

activists have held vigil outside the courthouse in Benton County to call attention to the Cost of War, not only with signs and chants, but with their very bodies 

as they take part in a nationwide fast for peace called Troops Home Fast!  That idea is catching on as other groups around the state plan to take part in a 

rolling fast over the next month and a half.  The goal of the rolling fast is to have your group chose it’s fasting dates (you can chose anywhere from 1 coordinated 

day up to 1½ months of fasting as makes sense for your group) and then create a plan to have fasters and spread the word in your community.  

Kick off your fasting with a shared vigil date across Oregon on August 6th (the 61st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed 140,000 

people and sickened hundreds of thousands).  The rolling fast will continue through September 21st (International Peace Day).  The dates at either end of the 

rolling fast will be vigil days that will be marked around the state as part of ROP’s Co$t of War campaign.  Groups will decide how they want to hold vigil on 

these dates – whether they are silent and candlelit or boisterous celebrations of peace.  One group plans to end their vigil on September 21st marking the end 

of the fast with a community dinner.  However your group decides to participate, you can know that across the state, rural communities will be raising up a 

mighty collective voice to call for an accounting of the true cost of war.   

WHY THIS ACTIVITY?  The Co$t of War campaign is focused on getting our elected officials to account for how much they have authorized in new spending and what they have cut to pay for this illegal and immoral war.  But a key part of making them do this accounting is actually getting the people to demand it.  Let’s use the high profile we can create individually and collectively that comes with fasting, to build support for the Co$t of War campaign and help bring the Troops Home Fast!

STEPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY:

1. Share this KTA with your leadership team of your local human dignity group.
2. Mark your calendar for the shared vigil dates of Aug. 6^th (Hiroshima Day) with a rolling fast to End the War until the vigil date on Sept. 21^st  (International Peace Day)
3. Gather together to plan your group’s participation in the fast and vigil dates.  Select the dates your group will be fasting.  Develop a plan to get the word out in your community.  Options include: holding an on-going vigil during daylight hours during your fast, contacting your local paper and using your high profile as fasters to get a story written about the Co$t of War, holding vigils on the shared dates of Aug. 6^th and Sept. 21^st.
4. Make your community’s local Co$t of War signs to hold at vigils.  We want to get our call for accountability out there!  Local statistics that include the bill for each Oregon county are on their way from ROP. 
5. Register your group’s fast and vigil plans with ROP so that we can spread the word of our collective protest.
6. Mark you calendar for additional shared vigil dates after the fast on Oct. 7 (5th anniversary of the bombing of Afghanistan) and Nov. 7^th (Election Day).

ALSO THIS MONTH…

Place your group’s order for ROP’s STAND Voter Guides!  Our renowned pro-democracy voter guides will introduce the significance of the 2006 election with Cost of War lens.  It will also include our ballot measures endorsements after taking them through the rigorous scrutiny of our democracy grid.  Find out which ones are assaults on democracy and which ones get us a little closer to the kind of inclusive democratic world that we want.  Let us know how many bundles of 100 you want.  Orders need to be placed by August 15^th.  Delivery will be by September 15^th.  Each group is asked to reimburse costs of production.  (Costs will vary due to size and postage with an average cost of $10 for orders up to 500 and $20 for orders of 500-1000 and so on).

Previous KTAs are now located in the KTA Archive.