Letters to the Magazine

Siobhan RuckSan Francisco, Calif.

9/11's Next of Kin

Nikki Stern's essay on the question of "moral authority" and its implications for the family members of those who died on 9/11 is a breath of fresh air ("Our Grief Doesn't Make Us Experts," my turn, March 13). She has enriched us all by sharing her thoughts through grief, vulnerability, responsibility and advocacy. Having reached a period of reflection, stability and "moral humility," Stern shows us how, against all odds, one becomes a wise woman.

Catherine E. Lovely Summerfield, Fla.

I would like to thank Nikki Stern for her insistence on being an average person whose life has been shaken by something terrible. Those of us who have gone through life thus far without such experiences do tend to live outside the world of political concern. It is sad that so many survivors of 9/11 victims have been used like poster children to promote the beliefs of others not affected. While nobody questions the rights of survivors' kin like Stern to use their undesired notoriety as an implement of power, some of us are tired of hearing politicians use them as a tool to emotionalize questionable policies. It is refreshing to hear the personal feelings of a survivor of a 9/11 victim. Too much has been said on their behalf and in their name by political deities and policy pushers.

Robert HoefsPort Washington, Wis.