Before they even opened their mouth, each new arrival was living evidence of the wickedness of communism. The very fact that they had to escape and could not return marked a violation of their basic human right to the freedom of movement.

Six months ago a church worker in Harlem put me on hold for what felt like an indecently long time. Just as I was about to hang up on our conversation about the church's moral responsibility to balance the competing goals of historical preservation, economic development and racial and social diversity in the area, he returned to my ear as abruptly as he'd left. "Sorry," he said. "That was my broker. That's a call I had to take. Now where were we?"