Colleagues,As part of its focus on the activities around the commemoration of the deaths on 9/11 The Guardian had in it G2 supplement on the 6th September a deeply moving series of interviews with those who had lost someone on that day.
On many occasions the writing in The Guardian moved has moved me to consider writing a letter to underline the extent to which an article had significantly impacted on my thinking.
So, having read the G2 interviews on the train to Ruskin I decided to write something brief but focused. I fired it off and thought nothing of it. Then, yesterday, a text from a fellow tutor at Ruskin (Rosie Nicola) alerted me to the publication of my letter (and hers on a different topic).
The text of the letter is here:
Like many on the left and in the labour movement I have over many years developed a deep-seated resentment toward US foreign policy. The 9/11 attack did little to unsettle this unquestioning attitude, which bled into a corrosive attitude to all things American. Your collection of interviews with those directly affected by 9/11 (G2, 6 September) was a penetrating portrait of the casualties of a conflict not of their making. They look back on 9/11 with stoicism and, remarkably, little bitterness towards the terrorists who inflicted irreparable damage on their lives. The least I can do is that which I have come to dislike of the American polity: to learn lessons, wise up and move on.
The others printed with it can be read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/legacy-9-11-and-aftermath
You can get a sense of my response to the G2 interviews from my letter and I'd welcome any comments or questions.
In Solidarity
Ian
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