It was a scene of turmoil. tragedy and the raw reality of underlying issues and bitter emotions that have brought us to the edge of the precipice. Through the eerie light and the deafening clamor of surging. shouting people. the cleavage between the East and West. between slavery and freedom. loomed up. barbed wire strung on 8foot poles. clusters of Russian armed vehicles loaded with troops. guns held at the ready. I visited the refugee centerpeople of all ages. old and young. mothers and babies. penniless. homeless. What is it that moves men and women to leave their homes. to swim rivers and canals. to risk being shot at and to risk terrible punishment if apprehended? In his message on the state of the Union. on January 6. 1959.