As I sit down to write this, my heart is heavy for the people of Boston and the victims of Monday’s senseless bombing. Despite this devastating attack, my own experiences give me optimism knowing that the city of Boston will make it through this turbulent time and come out of it stronger than ever.
On Friday, I will join Oklahomans across the world as we reflect on the 18th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168 people and shook America’s heartland. The evil that occurred in my hometown nearly two decades ago was defeated because a community stood together against it. My optimism stems from my confidence that the resolve of the people of Boston is stronger than any force of evil or hatred.
I was five years old the morning that Timothy Mcveigh set off a bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah building. I vividly remember feeling the highway shake violently and hearing a breath-taking boom in the distance as my mother drove me to school. In the days following the bombing I remember seeing images of the aftermath: a firefighter carrying a mangled child in his arms, a chain-link fence covered in flowers, stuffed animals, and notes – a makeshift memorial to the victims of this heinous act. A memorial which still stands to this day. I remember how thousands of people came from all over the nation to help relieve the hurting and search for the missing.
Even now, stories are coming out praising the countless heroes who responded without hesitation to help their fellow Bostonians. To paraphrase Edmund Burke: “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.” It was clear 18 years ago and it’s clear today. Evil has not triumphed, because good men and women have chosen to do something.
Several months ago I found myself in a garden in Birmingham, Alabama. As I stood in front of a young tree with the sun glistening magnificently against the dew of its leaves a man explained to me that it was a seedling from the Survivor Tree – the lone Elm that stood tall against the earth-shattering blast in Oklahoma City.
The Survivor Tree represents profound resilience, and resilience has roots in the communities that plant it. So whether it be a seedling in Alabama, a mighty elm in Oklahoma, a maple tree in Boston, or a dense forest in Central Africa, here’s to the resilience of those who stand together for justice. May we stand as tall as the Redwoods, as strong as the Elm , and as far reaching as the Manzanita. Though some may try to cut us down, we will never be destroyed. For under the surface our roots spread far and wide and as long as we are grounded in resilience we can never be uprooted.
(Photo credits: Lisa Jeter)
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