Lessons Still Unlearned

To the Editor:

Re “Whose 9/11 Is It? Clintons Invoke It in Their Campaign” [Sept. 10]:

As the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks comes and goes, I think it’s a fair question to ask, “What as a society have we learned?” What have we learned about ourselves and about the world?

Sadly, I’d say not much. We have learned that a lot of corrupt, incompetent, greedy people have made a lot of money at the expense of the American taxpayer. One has only to look at the lucrative contracts being handed out annually by the Department of Homeland Security, coupled with an exploding Pentagon budget, to see that post-9/11 has been very good for some selected industries.

Another sorry consequence of the terrorist attacks has been the way certain craven, cynical politicians have used it not only to enrich themselves personally, but, in the case of Rudy Giuliani, an attempt is being made to ride it all the way to the White House.

But worst of all, a great many Americans are still stumbling around muttering, “Why do they hate us?”

Vernon Burton
San Leandro, Calif.