Note – on June 25, thousands of women across the country are expected to participate in the “Day of Dinners”, called for by organizers of the Women’s March. Their goal is to “start a new conversation about the country we want and a future worth fighting for”. 

In the five months that the Trump/Pence Regime has been in power they have: dropped “the mother of all bombs” in Afghanistan; cut off funding for women’s health world-wide; instituted terroristic deportation raids; withdrawn from the Paris accords, and fostered a culture of bigotry and hate. They are not relenting despite some setbacks to their agenda. Rather, they are  barreling forward with repressive measures against journalists, immigrants, Black and Latino youth, and those that dissent. They’re pushing a budget and “healthcare” plan with genocidal implications. This is done while expanding war zones and increasingly taking measures that put the health of the whole planet in jeopardy. All the while they are emboldening their fascist social base, which is committing hate crimes – including murder – and issuing threats at epidemic proportions.  

It is a beautiful thing that at this time when hatred and bigotry are being promoted from the highest office, people of diverse backgrounds are coming together to “dig deeper, ask the hard questions and see each other in new ways”. It is true as DayOfDinners.org states that those who are rising up against the Trump/Pence agenda have “more in common than we ever thought.” It is heartening that many of those who came out to the Women’s March and who stood against the anti-Muslim rallies on June 10th are participating. Gathering with our neighbors as many of them come under greater threat and outright attack is precious, as is having conversations about the world we want to live in and a future worth fighting for. But if it is not in the service of people joining together, right now, to take action to drive out this regime, it will all be for naught.

Whether you are participant or organizer of the DayofDinners, you need to be a part of asking truly challenging questions, and following through deeply in digging for answers. Questions like, “what will it really take to stop the fascist trajectory?”  Questions like, can the planet and its people really wait until 2018 to stop this path of destruction we’re on? We all need to dig deeply into understanding the reality we face –  we cannot wait until 2018, and we need to see each other in our millions as those that make history – the only ones who can possibly end this nightmare. We know that this is not an easy undertaking. Certainly not casual dinner conversation. But these are not normal times.

There is mighty reservoir of millions of people, such as yourself, full of outrage and heartache. But that reservoir is being dammed by people thinking and being lead to think that “we need to settle down to do the important work of grassroots organizing for the long haul” or focus on “building communities.” This Trump/Pence regime is making immigrant communities into ghost towns. It is, instituting a form of ethnic cleansing through the shredding of basic life supports people depend on, and through threatening deportation of millions. It is destroying the planet, and expanding its wars on the world.

Many organizations are resisting various aspects of this regime’s programs, whether it be through supporting their Muslim neighbors, standing up to ICE raids, or resisting Trump Care. This regime is gearing up the machinery of a fully fascist state, mobilizing their nazi social basis, and readying to stomp out dissent completely. If we don’t stop the consolidation of fascism by joining together with the one unifying demand that the Trump/Pence Regime must go, all of these struggles could be crushed.

But this isn’t a message of despair and hopelessness. This is an invitation to bring into the Day of Dinners a really hopefully path; an invitation to break out of the channels we are told we need to stick to, and the ways we are told to think. It is an invitation to be part of a Summer of Struggle to build the movement needed to drive this regime from power, including joining in and helping organize for the July 15th Nationwide Day of Action near you. We are sure there will be lots of healthy debates at dinner, whether about religion or racism. We implore you to unite with fellow diners on committing to move heaven and earth to defeat the fascist Trump/Pence program starting now. This will matter greatly to all those across the globe who sit in the crosshairs of this regime.

Bon Appetite,

Samantha Goldman