Francis Pauc: Not smart or just to demonize our opponents

WNPJ member Francis Pauc, of Oak Creek, sends us this essay, raising some concerns about how those of us in the peace movement relate to our political opponents:

Over the past five years, my family and I have participated in various demonstrations against the war in Iraq. In general these have been positive experiences for us, and I know that I have learned a great deal. The protests have been good opportunities to meet new people and for me to expand my horizons. However, I have to admit that there is something about these gatherings that disturbs me.

Quite often during the protests I have witnessed people expressing anger and bitterness toward the people who got us into this war. It is understandable for people to feel this way, but I would argue that it is counterproductive. Railing and ranting against Bush and Company may help in getting the crowd worked up, but it is essentially a negative energy. We are very good at opposing the war, but are we as competent when it comes to promoting peace? Being against something is easy, being in favor of something requires more thought and work. At demonstrations I hear people speaking loud and clear about what we don't want any more. I am not entirely sure that I hear well-thought-out expressions of what we should do instead.

Speakers at the demonstrations often mock and belittle the Bush administration. By extension they are also criticizing those that agree with Bush concerning the war in Iraq. I grant you that there are plenty of things about these people to criticize, but I don't think that it is smart or just to demonize our opponents. When we label somebody a " warmonger " or " rightwing fanatic" are we any more noble than the person who calls one of us a " cut-and-run liberal " or " a friend of the terrorists " ? When we dismiss somebody out of hand by labelling them, we are only hurting ourselves.

There is a crucial difference between saying that somebody is seriously mistaken and saying that they are in some way evil. I think that too often we cross that line and say in some manner that our adversaries are evil. This is a mistake. It is a mistake because, if we say that, now we have eliminated the possibility of communication with our opponents. We have certainly eliminated the possibility of any compromise on an issue. I am not saying that we need to agree with people that we consider to be badly mistaken. On the contrary, we need to passionately oppose them. However, we need to respect them, even if they refuse to respect us.
Francis Pauc - Oak Creek, Wisconsin