The Oklahoma House of Representatives on Monday, April 20, observed the 31st anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. What is known as the deadliest act of domestic terrorism ever to occur in our nation, took place April 19, 1995, killing 168 people, including 19 children.
Many Oklahomans remember exactly where they were on April 19, 1995. I was a second-grade student at Central Elementary in Guthrie. I remember the adults around me acting differently that day. Even as a child, I could sense something terrible had happened. As I grew older, I came to understand the full weight of what Oklahoma endured. We’ve had to learn in hindsight through grim descriptions of the devastation and about the warped motives of those who planned this attack here in the heartland of America. We’ve learned these lessons through 168 glass and bronze empty chairs, through a reflecting pool only deep enough to cast back our own image.
But we learn as well through articles such as House Resolution 1046, which recalls the events of the bombing and expresses gratitude to those who responded with acts of comfort and kindness. The response to evil is not lawlessness or vengeance, but justice, moral courage, and faith. Oklahomans answered hatred with resolve, compassion, and prayer. We ask God’s help not only to restrain evil, but to cultivate the virtues that sustain a free people. The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum aids in this endeavor through programs such as Journey of Hope and Better Conversations that teach youth across the state some of the lessons we’ve learned from this horrific act…