"At the time it was political solution," a man lowered himself

  into a chair.  A mix of world history and experience his talk was a careful walk not a tread.  

  "People who didn't live through a war in their homeplaces don't really know about how devastated people and place can get." 

  The tall man had been revived with smelling salts and given a wool blanket which he had around his shoulders. 

  

  "So he seemed to be saying it was impossible for people to make up and truly be 'friends' given the shape of the human psyche at the end of World War II." 

  "And given the hard facts even when there was sentiment for peace." 

  "And, of course, changes," the students groped for what heard to apply to present situation. 

  "I did.  I made it clear that getting to meet some living history people like Gorbachav is not necessarily going to win my vote." 

  "You know," the older student amongst the younger students said, "A lot of people in the wars didn't think of themselves in a historical framework.  And didn't have perspective of anything but their own situation." 

  "We're finding that out ourselves.  Like superiors have different information than us." 

  "Exactly."