The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists.

Clinton’s contrast shifts attention away from identity categories (religion, ethnicity, nationality) and toward values and actions. By insisting the “real differences” are between peacemakers and peace-destroyers, future-oriented reformers and past-bound revanchists, open hands and clenched fists, he moralizes the political landscape: conflict is not inevitable because of who people are, but because of what leaders and movements choose to do. The parallel structure and escalating metaphors (“open their arms” vs. “clench their fists”) aim to make moderation and compromise appear courageous and expansive, while portraying extremism as constricted and regressive. It is also a persuasive appeal for coalition-building across identities in support of peace processes.