Rembering the Oklahoma City Bombing 15 Years Later

It is difficult to believe that 15 years have passed since the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City bombing was the largest act of domestic terrorism on American soil until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One hundred and sixty-eight people were killed, including 19 children under the age of six. Another three hundred and eighty people were injured. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were arrested soon after the bombing and were both found guilty of terrorism and murder. Timothy McVeigh was executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001.

My Memories of the Oklahoma City Bombing

In April of 1995, I was the mother of two young boys. Michael was not quite three years old, and Nathan was just one year old. I was working as a receptionist for a large multinational company when I heard the news of the Oklahoma City bombing. My memories are vivid, and I write this with tears in my eyes now, looking back and thinking about those poor babies who were killed that awful day.

I remember many nights, when I was tired and cranky from lack of sleep up with my little ones, I often thought of the parents who lost their child that fateful day. I imagined that they would have been only too happy to have been kept up all night by a crying toddler. I felt guilty and grateful that my babies were safe with me. I have always been an advocate against the death penalty and still am today but will admit to feeling little empathy for Timothy McVeigh as he awaited his execution in 2001. I still believe that the death penalty is wrong, but it is acts like the Oklahoma City Bombing that make it easier for me to understand why many disagree with me when it comes to capital punishment.

How Did September 11^th Compare to the Oklahoma City Bombings?

I found it much more difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the September 11^th terrorist attacks then the Oklahoma City bombings. Perhaps it was because so many more were killed on September 11^th, or that the buildings that were hit that day were ones that I visited on numerous occasions. I had never been to Oklahoma City.

Is the World a More Dangerous Place Today?

I am sure that some may disagree with me, but I do not believe that the world is more dangerous today than it was 100 or even 1,000 years ago. We have weapons that are more dangerous now, and the Earth contains many more people today than in the past, but if we look at the dangers of today versus the dangers of yesterday, I would argue that the world has become more civilized and less dangerous. The average life expectancy continues to increase and the world has not seen a world war since the 1940s. There are still dangers, and the face of danger may have changed, but it is no greater.

Have We Become Desensitized to Terrorism?

I do not believe that we have become desensitized to terrorism. If we look at the fact that today, 15 years after the Oklahoma City bombing we are still thinking about the victims and remembering the tragedy. In a country of more than 300 million people the Oklahoma City bombing directly touched a very tiny percentage of us, yet those of us who were not directly affected still remember and still cry. I am not desensitized to acts of terrorism, and I would argue that my fellow Americans are not either. We still remember. We still feel. We still cry.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing