It actually, physically hurts when Ginsberg turns away like that. Ned knows what it is, to hate yourself so much you can't look another person in the face. But Ginsberg doesn't deserve to hate himself so much for so little.

"Not necessarily," Ned knows it's a stretch, but he isn't sure how else to comfort Ginsberg, how else to make him feel better, "The companies I buy fruit from probably cheat and exploit their workers, only I haven't had the courage to look them up and check, because even if they do, I have to buy fruit from someone. Just like you have to make ads for someone. That doesn't make you a- a Nazi. You have to see that. You're not writing propaganda for the war, and you're not working for the government, and you're not hurting people directly, so there is a difference. There's a big one."

There's something so daunting about all this, and Ned has a moment of self-doubt. Is this really the right route to take, or will it sound like he's just invalidating Ginsberg's feelings? But he doesn't know what else to do.

"The war's too big for you, Ginsberg. You're not going to be able to stop it single-handed by quitting your job, or keep it going by writing a great ad for a horrible company. You're not that important. That doesn't mean you're just allowing bad things to happen."

He hesitates, weighing the options before him. Will baring his own burdens really help to Ginsberg to bear his? Or will he merely worsen the other man's conviction that everyone is rotten on the inside, in one way or another? In the end, Ned decides to risk it.

"And even if pie doesn't hurt people... I have. So I know what I'm talking about."