By Mitch Holt, Special Contributor
Don’t Believe the Hype
Does the date June 11, 2001, stand out in your mind?
It probably doesn’t.
What about the name Timothy McVeigh? Now we’re talking, right?
McVeigh was executed on this date for the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. His accomplice, Terry Nichols, is currently serving multiple life sentences for state and federal charges.
Thousands of friends and family members of victims, those who so vividly remember the fateful day when a once-functional building in Oklahoma City became charred remnants, will gather on Tuesday to remember a decade-old day from hell.
The rest of Mrs. Rule’s fourth grade class and I were quietly finishing up our lesson on kinetic energy for the day when we heard the news.
I thought, “someone blew up a large building … where?” I had no clue where Oklahoma City was; youngsters growing up above the Mason-Dickson line often believe that the only parts of the country worth knowing about lie in the surrounding states that make up the New England area.
In spite of my geographical ignorance, I was still dumbfounded that someone would destroy a building with people in it with the intention of taking lives.
As the 10th anniversary for this day of domestic bombing approaches and passes, Americans will be mindful of the many like instances that have taken place over the years. The Oklahoma City Bombing, Sept. 11, 2001, the mailbombing of Ted Kaczynski (the “Unibomber”), the multiple school shootings and the many foreign terrorist attacks that have taken place during the past 10 years have launched us into an age of relentless and guilt-free murder.
We are living in an age of defensiveness, national security efforts and distrust of the common man (or woman). These instances of carelessness with human life have legitimately transformed the world into a pack of fear mongers and skeptics.
I remember the America that my grandfather used to tell me about-the America in which flight passengers didn’t fear the Arab-looking man sitting next to them, the America in which guns were carried for hunting, not protection, and the America in which the average citizen would leave his or her front door unlocked when going to the store.
That America is ancient history; however, the aforementioned description of the mentality of Americans doesn’t have to apply to you. I’m not telling you to leave your doors unlocked or toss your guns in the dumpster (although, that is a whole different issue for another day), but as American Christians, we must be compassionate, not fearful.
Is life so precious that you must defend it at all costs? You don’t need a handgun at the grocery store, and chances are, the Arab man sitting next to you isn’t going to shoot you with an AK-47 or blow you up with a self-made shoe bomb; but, even if he or anyone else does, we will eventually be moving on to a better life.
As this 10-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing is upon us, replace anger and fear with mourning and compassion. Try faith-based living rather than fear-based living.
