BASHIR: What is this place?
SISKO: A Sanctuary District.
BASHIR: Twenty first century history is not one of my strong points. Too depressing.
SISKO: It's been a hobby of mine. They made some ugly mistakes, but they also paved the way for a lot of the things we take now for granted.
BASHIR: I assume this is one of those mistakes.
SISKO: A bad one. By the early twenty twenties there was a place like this in every major city in the United States.
BASHIR: Why are these people in here? Are they criminals?
SISKO: No. People with criminal records weren't allowed in the Sanctuary Districts.
BASHIR: Then what did they do to deserve this?
SISKO: Nothing. They're just people without jobs or places to live.
BASHIR: So they get put in here?
SISKO: Welcome to the twenty first century, Doctor.
...
LEE: Well, in that case, I'm afraid you're going have to stay here in the Sanctuary for the time being.
BASHIR: You mean we can't leave?
LEE: It's for your own safety.
SISKO: Really.
LEE: And it's the law.
SISKO: What about jobs? How are we supposed to find a place to work and somewhere to live if we're stuck in here?
LEE: One of the services we provide is job placement.
SISKO: And how long's that usually take?
LEE: I wish I could give you a definite answer, but jobs are hard to come by right now, what with the economy and all. My advice is to be patient. In the meantime, take these. (cards) They're your ration cards. You can use them to get food and water at any of the distribution points in the district. Hang on to them.
...
BASHIR: Every building we go to, it's the same story. They can't all be full.
SISKO: Don't be so sure. One of the main complaints against the Sanctuary Districts was overcrowding. It got to the point where they didn't care how many people were in here. They just wanted to keep them out of sight.
BASHIR: And once they were out of sight, what then? I mean, look at this man. There's no need for that man to live like that. With the right medication, he could lead a full and normal life.
SISKO: Maybe in our time.
BASHIR: Not just in our time. There are any number of effective treatments for schizophrenia, even in this day and age. They could cure that man now, today, if they gave a damn.
SISKO: It's not that they don't give a damn, Doctor. It's that they've given up. The social problems they face seem too enormous to deal with.
BASHIR: That only makes things worse. Causing people to suffer because you hate them is terrible, but causing people to suffer because you have forgotten how to care? That's really hard to understand.
SISKO: They'll remember. It'll take some time and it won't be easy, but eventually people in this century will remember how to care.
BASHIR: But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? Are humans really any different than Cardassians or Romulans? If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation, if we are frightened enough, or desperate enough, how would we react? Would we stay true to our ideals or would we just stay up here, right back where we started?
SISKO: I don't know. But as a Starfleet officer, it's my job to make sure we never have to find out.
...
BASHIR: Well, at least it's a good picture. You know, Commander, having seen a little of the twenty first century there is one thing I don't understand. How could they have let things get so bad?
SISKO: That's a good question. I wish I had an answer.
