Today marks the 15 year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. Most of us that are old enough to remember can remember the exact moment they found out about this devestating life changing moment that happened in the United States. In 1995 that was the largest act of terroism ever to occur. Unfortunately since then we have witnessed several other terrorist-like attacks with the largest being of course the attack on September 11th. For most of us that seems like a violent attacks on our land in our lifetime, but we really have been fortunate compared to most third world countries where attacks seem like a normal part of life.
A total of 168 people were killed during the Oklahoma City bombing some of them being children. I remember watching a special after the clean up of the bombing and a family was able to have closure because the authorities recovered one of their 6 year-old daughter's hands in the rubble. I was in the 6-7th grade when I heard this, but it made such an impact on me. I felt so thankful that I didn't have to experience my family members being completely destroyed and only having a body part left of them.
We all also remember the daunting story of the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, who showed no remorse for this actions. If you are really that demented you can watch the documentary made by MSBNBC that includes clips of audio from his confession. He goes into detail about his plan to kill many people along with his co-conspirator, Terry Nichols. Anyone who has kept up with this story know that the day of his execution, while controversial, was secretly welcomed by most and I know that some of us wish we could see more evil people also meet their doom.
I know it was a horrible event, but I think that it's entirely appropriate for students who were too young or not born yet to experience some of this painful tradegy. We need to be aware of these horrible things in order to fully appreciate the life we have been allowed to live (free of tragic occurrances). Hopefully most of us will be spared from the world's ugliness during our lifetime, but we shouldn't ever forget those lives lost from events such as the Oklahoma City Bombing.
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If you ever have a chance, come to OKC and go to the Memorial Museum. Even though I didn't live down here when the bombing happened, the sorrow and weight that you feel just cannot be explained. We are very lucky at OU that they took the time and allowed for us to go to the ceremony without making us use leave. The pictures of the small children that perished just makes you break down, especially if you have small children of your own.
ReplyDeleteI was 12 years old when Oklahoma City was bombed. I grew up in Upstate New York, Oklahoma seemed a world away, but my heart wept for those lost and those left behind.
ReplyDeleteAs a native New Yorker, I will never forget 9-11. For me, it is a day that will live in infamy. I will never forget the moment I realized what was happening, nor that entire day. You are right, that we all must be aware of what has happened to be grateful for what we have.
Yes memory is a delicate balancing act. The one side is forgetting events like these, simply put I say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Of course the other side is focusing too much on the negative. One day I was sick and I stayed at home all day watching apocolypse shows on the history channel. By the end of that day I had to throw in Harold and Kumar just because I needed a laugh. I'll never forget but don't lose your balance.
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