I remember a line from a violent and disturbing movie I saw many years ago, back when I sometimes watched movies like that. A man with a mental disability had been hired to build a fence. The homeowners watched him as he stood and held a board, turning it one way then another as he thought intently about some aspect of the construction. He finally came to the owners and asked, “Is this fence being built to keep people out or to keep people in?”

We all have our own challenges, but most of us would understand the same proper fence would do either of the jobs the fellow had in mind. A fence, or a hedge, is a barrier. It keeps people out or in by restricting access to one side or the other of the space it traverses.