Thirty Years Later: The Lasting Legacy of the Oklahoma City Bombing
April 19, 2025, marks thirty years since one of the darkest days in American history. On that spring morning in 1995, a bomb ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children, and injuring hundreds more. It was, at the time, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran with deep-seated anti-government views, parked a Ryder truck loaded with explosives outside the building. At 9:02 a.m., the bomb detonated. The blast destroyed a third of the building, shattered surrounding structures, and left the nation stunned. It was an unthinkable act, not from a foreign adversary, but from within.
I’ve visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial, where rows of empty chairs represent each life lost—small chairs for the children. It’s impossible to walk those grounds and not feel a reverent stillness. The memorial is haunting, but also sacred. It transforms grief into reflection and pain into purpose.
But this event is not distant history to me. I’ve been honored to meet—and now count as close friends—two Oklahoma City police officers who responded to that tragedy. One was among the first on the scene that morning. The other spent the following week in the rubble, pulling the bodies of his friends and colleagues from the wreckage. To suggest that the bombing impacted their lives would be a massive understatement. The way they approach life—its meaning, its fragility, its sacredness—was forever changed by what they saw and did.
A National Turning Point
The bombing changed America. It awakened the country to the very real threat of domestic extremism and reshaped how law enforcement approached terrorism. The attack led to significant changes in security protocols at federal buildings, gave rise to new counterterrorism policies, and fueled public awareness of radical anti-government movements.
But beyond policy shifts, the Oklahoma City bombing forced us to reckon with something deeper: the dangerous potential of hate when left unchecked.
Remembering and Reflecting
Each anniversary brings a moment to mourn, but also to reflect on how we respond to violence and division. The impulse toward rage, resentment, and ideological warfare—left, right, or otherwise—can erode our shared humanity. McVeigh was driven by hate, convinced that destruction was a form of justice. But violence never heals wounds. It only creates new ones.
In the years since, America has seen its share of unrest and division. And yet, the lesson from Oklahoma City remains unchanged: hate is not a path to justice. Violence is not a form of speech. The answer to frustration, injustice, or political disagreement cannot be to inflict pain on innocent lives.
A part of the perimeter fence set around the bombing site that is still in place today to preserve the messages from loved ones to the dead
A Call to Choose Something Better
The Oklahoma City National Memorial bears a powerful inscription: “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever.” But it’s not just a call to remember the past—it’s a call to shape the future.
In this anniversary, let’s honor the memory of the 168 by rejecting the forces that led to their deaths. Let’s teach our children that with few exceptions, the way to make a difference in the world is not with bombs or bullets, but with compassion, conviction, and courage.
Hate may have fueled the tragedy, but love defines the legacy.
