It’s perhaps little short of obscene on this, the 15th anniversary of 9/11, that the dominant political conversation is about something as inane – and yet so fundamentally important – as it is this morning. The fact that the US has become as polarized and divided as it appears to be, and shows little sign of changing, makes us less as a nation when, my God, what happened should have taken us down so many different roads – mostly all of them better.

The plane I was on was able to turn around and bring me safely home to my family. So very many that day and in the years since have not been so lucky. My heart breaks for them and their families.