Clapping for the opposition. Now that’s a strange idea. He had us pause to congratulate the man who had just stood up and knocked the antiwar position with a rant of his own.

It could not have been easy for this man to stand up in a room full of antiwar types and argue something to the contrary. Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio and presidential hopeful had just spent the last 45 minutes dissecting President Bush’s hopes for war on Iraq.

The room in the Memorial Union was full and people loved the speech. Again and again, Kucinich argued his position on the alternatives to war, the economy and Social Security. He was animated, at times pounding his fist on the podium and even miming to make his case.

Then came the young man who, in the question period, had had enough and he told everyone about it. After calmly answering the question, Kucinich gave us a lesson in dialogue and respect.

He thanked the man for his query and asked the crowd to join with him in applauding the courage required to stand up against the crowd. Astonished, the crowd did so.

A fundamental weakness in the movement against war on Iraq is the need to engage those who disagree in dialogue on the matter. Not to complain about the problem with friends or simply hold events with all of the people in agreement.

It’s easy for students in college towns and liberal intelligentsia to hold dear their opinions and give seminars to other people who agree.

Don’t get me wrong, the movement is an increasingly diverse one. The millions —yes, millions — of people making up the crowds in about 630 cities and 60 countries around the world last weekend were sure as heck not all hardened activists. Many of them were clean-cut suburbanites or middle-class office workers who have grown skeptical of the rush for invasion.

The movement is becoming broader and deeper, but it needs to happen faster. Too many Americans watch the massive demonstrations in this country and abroad and don’t see themselves because they think it’s just a bunch of protesters.

Kucinich argued wisely that those who oppose an attack need to build bridges with those who don’t. Invite each other into the conversation and respect the courage of others to stand up for their principles.

He’s not the only one to see this. A number of critics and journalists are also pointing this out.

Renowned British journalist Robert Fisk drove this point home for readers in a recent piece in The Independent. He wrote of a pro-war tongue-lashing he received following a television interview in Texas. The man’s outburst prompted Fisk to challenge the peace movement to reach beyond its comfort zone. This comes as a bitter pill for many people who are working hard to stop the rush to war.

Fisk wrote, “The people with whom these liberal academics should be building bridges are the truck-drivers and bellhops and Amtrak crews … But that, of course, would force intellectuals to emerge from the sheltered, tenured world of seminars and sit-ins and deal directly with those whose opinions they wish to change.”

Furthermore, Fisk appealed to “liberal academics” to respect the intelligence and humanity of all folks. He said that if the movement is to be successful it must seek out people in all walks of life.

Indeed, too many in the peace movement like to give talks to others in the peace movement.

It is time to sharpen our tools of criticism and turn focus on ourselves to see just how to better respond, to better dialogue with folks who may disagree.

A movement that aspires to effect social change must be able to look and criticize within to seek and engage those who disagree.

Great leaders of history understood this, Congressman Kucinich showed us how this week, and it’s time our exploding movement takes the lesson.

We must recognize the common abhorrence for war resident in all human beings regardless of background, class or education level. With dialogue and mutual respect, the movement will be able to draw on innate human goodness to expose the true fallacy and brutality of war. All people understand this fundamentally and it is currently the task of the peace movement to facilitate the conversation.

Omar Tesdell is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Slater.