It’s good to have a historian’s perspective on contemporary events, especially Simon Schama’s whose commentary I always find interesting. His Guardian article fronted the paper today, a year after 9/11, and was titled “The dead and the guilty”.

He contrasts the style of Mayor Giuliani on that terrible day with that of George Bush. We got information from the former and pieties from the latter. Bush’s Waynesque promises of retribution and condemnations of evil would have made Islington squirm. Not just there I would have thought. But as Schama says, Islington was not under attack.

Perhaps a leader needs to use such a tone at these times. But Bush hasn’t risen above that yet and given any great insight into the complexities of the problem. I think Clinton showed more intelligence at the Dimbleby lecture when he said that if we didn’t try to understand the roots of terrorism we would guarantee its perpetuation. He drew convergence lines between those who claim to know absolute truth and those who make no such claim. Militant theocracy against tolerant enlightenment in Schama’s words. An old song indeed and one still needing to be played out.

America apparently isn’t up for taking the enlightened view at present and Bush is the right man for that. According to Schama the Bush administration shuns debate at all costs. Silence and secrecy are its preferred modus operandi. The Clintonites were the opposite, guilty of ‘incontinent gabbiness’.

He lays into the Bush people for the rest of the article for being conservative, pseudo religious and in tow to scoundrel capitalism. With this they deny the deep civic instincts and feeling for community which have historically been essential to Americans. Apparently the initial plans to simply rebuild the towers for business were rejected at town meetings in favour of something more meaningful - evidence of that spirit at work.

It’s the stifling of debate that is at the heart of Schama’s criticism. The new mayor and governor have chosen to give traditional speeches today (Gettysburg Address etc.). He thinks this short changes both history and the present and exemplifies his point. America needs to find its voice.