9/11

I witnessed the birth of my third daughter just a month after 9/11. As parents we were overjoyed, of course, but also acutely conscious of the terrifying new world into which she had suddenly come. When the twin towers melted before our eyes so did a great deal of transatlantic confidence. Britain shared the horror with you and backed all American military efforts thereafter.

Sixty seven of our citizens died on that day. Gone in that poisonous choking dust cloud was the trust of believing that nothing quite so evil 'could happen here'. Every hope, every wish and every certainty of safety began to ring hollow after that awful day. A totally wicked crime against a whole way of life in the west had been perpetrated in Manhattan and the repercussions were inevitable. For when the innocent become the real targets of terror the cruelest form of fear takes shape. It starts to eat away at the core of civilized society - trust itself. For when you can no longer be sure you are safe then you realize that being afraid is the new norm.

Even on the day itself, London and Londoners knew that we would probably be next. And we were. My little girl will very soon be ten years old. But at school they don't go out of their way to teach children anything at all about what happened on 9/11. Perhaps, as a nation, we have become unnecessarily squeamish - opting to say nothing rather than risk causing offense.

Religious fundamentalism and its intolerant extremes are deliberately left unexplained in Britain's schools. There is a campaign to change that. The 9/11 London Project not only helped to bring a piece of striking modern art to our city - made of twisted steel girders reclaimed from the rubble of the twin towers and unveiled here just a few days ago - they are also promoting the whole idea of much better education. We may have learned to live with what happened -- but the next generation deserve to learn why. This is Ed Boyle for CBS News in London.