I listened with dismay at the suggestion by John Gormly and many others that seeking the truth about why people died on 9/11 dishonours those who died. This is similar to the personal attacks and name calling of those who dare to question why our citizens are dying in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The word ‘conspiracy theorist’ is shouted with disdain at those who dare seek the truth. They even go further and suggest that it dishonours the families of those who have died. The fact is that our political leaders are making decisions which they know will cause the death of a loved one or the loved one of one of our citizens, in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Concerning 9/11 the questions are even deeper: did you have anything to do with the death of innocents?

In the US, these questions are being asked of an administration that has been found to have lied about the reason for invading Iraq and as a result have killed thousands of US citizens, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and plunged us into an international war! In Canada, this is being asked about an administration that tried to actually hide the bodies of citizens who died in Afghanistan! And an administration that has without our authorization, put Canadian citizens at risk of death in Iraq!

A right to question

In every country, democratic or not, we have the right as citizens to question those who act in our name…always. I would go further and say that we have an obligation, in the name of all who die as a result of those decisions in our name, to never stop asking until the truth is known, unequivocally. And, for me, I will always accept my right and obligation to ask questions if innocent civilians are killed, in our name.