Teachable moments and the role of blame in public discourse

For those of us who came of age on a university campus during the Vietnam War, the turmoil we see today on America's campuses is both familiar and nonetheless different at the same time.

The Vietnam War was part of the Cold War struggle against communism, which was - at its core - an existential struggle. Or, at least, that is how it was thought about and portrayed by many in the leadership class.

While there was little sympathy for the North Vietnamese government, there was sympathy on campuses for the Vietnamese people and what were viewed as crimes against them by the American government. Think of the My Lai Massacre or Nick Ut's iconic photo of "napalm girl" and the outrage they provoked.

In like manner, the war between Israel and Hamas is seen by both sides as existential. Israelis - in shock over the events of Oct. 7 - believe Hamas's leaders when they say their goal is to kill every Jew and end the state of Israel. Hamas's leaders no doubt believe Israel when it says it seeks to destroy Hamas.

When a struggle is judged to be existential, then the supporters of either side have no room for compromise and this, perhaps, explains the raw emotions, the threats, and the racist language - particularly the antisemitism - that has infected American campuses.

There is a difference in many people's minds between Hamas and the two million Palestinians crammed into Gaza, often described as an "open air prison," where the median age is just 18. They are judged by many to be innocents in this struggle.

Hamas has embedded itself in that population in a way that guarantees that if Israel wants to strike Hamas then Palestinian non-combatants will pay a high price. That leads to pictures of the limp bodies of Palestinian children being dragged out of the rubble, and that has led to a great deal of the outrage we see on our campuses. But such images often distort as much as they inform.

Clearly, some campuses have handled the situation better than others. Dartmouth has been held up as a model when it organized a conversation between a Palestinian professor, a former refugee, and a Jewish professor, who together held a civil discussion with students about what is happening in the Middle East. As one of the professors noted: "We don't share the same views, but we share the same values."

During the Vietnam era, we called such gatherings "teach-ins" and this is certainly a teachable moment. I remember the gatherings on my campus in the spring of 1970 in the wake of Kent State. But more than those, I remember the late-night discussions on my dorm floor, especially when one of my floormates received a call from home that a high school friend was coming home from Vietnam in a body bag.

One of the professors engaged in the discussions with students at Dartmouth asked what I think is one of the most fundamental questions: "Are you trying to understand, or are you just looking for someone to blame?"

That question can be applied to so much of our political debate today. Why do my groceries cost so much? Why can't we stop all those people at the southern border? Why are these books in my kids' school library?

Are you trying to understand or are you just looking for someone to blame?

When you have a leading presidential candidate declare: "I am your retribution" and he pays no political price, one despairs that anger will overwhelm civil debate. Every issue and every election cycle presents teachable moments and our democracy balances on the cusp of those moments.

• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86.