"[This book] embodies the Buddhist wisdom about change, life, and the
world more than anything written after the events of that day."
Robert Stone

« Previous · Home · Next »

November 13, 2006

CONSPIRACY & VENOM

In the two months since the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, there has been something of a lull in the mainstream press about 9/11 conspiracy theories ("The towers were rigged with dynamite"..."Mossad and the CIA did it, in cahoots with Bush, Cheney, Halliburton, the Saudis and the Big Oil interests"..."The people on United 93 actually survived, were taken off the plane and sequestered in a secret hangar"..."The Pentagon actually bombed the Pentagon.") When I talk with teenagers or 20-somethings about the subject or when I visit college campuses on my book tour, I still encounter the conspiracy faithful, who seem to find some sort of comfort or meaning or relief from despair by focusing on a convenient culprit close to home instead of a faceless, unseen enemy such as al Qaeda.

Perhaps because my book attempts to debunk some of the theories out there (which circulate widely on the Internet and on talk radio), I still find push-back, resentment, pockets of resistance. I've received e-mails from people accusing me of being a CIA agent, accusing me of perpetuating a cover-up, accusing me of pooh-pooh-ing hard evidence. Hey, it comes with the territory, I guess.

On a positive note: I've been buoyed by the positive reactions from readers who've approached me by e-mail, phone, or in person following last week's events in New York (a panel for 250 at PhotoPlus Explo; a reading at the Half King, thanks to an invitation and introducution by author Sebastian Junger), Amherst (a book-signing), and Milwaukee (a radio interview with Greg Berg of the NPR affiliate there).

Tonight, a talk at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

Email this entry to:


Your email address:


Message (optional):