The Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City that killed 168 people 15 years ago today was the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. We can certainly relate to the Oklahoma City bombing, as we witness more disturbing parallels in today’s political climate and national mood. Signs are everywhere – violent anti-government rhetoric from right-wing extremists and Republican politicians, the shootings at Fort Hood last fall, the suicide crash of a small plane into an IRS building in February and more – showing that domestic terrorism is on the rise.

Oklahoma City bombing victims remembered

President Barack Obama has chosen the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing as the National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism. Last Friday he issued a proclamation with these opening remarks:

“There is no greater evil than willful violence against innocents. On this National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, we pause to remember victims of terrorism at home and abroad, we honor the heroes who have supported them, and we redouble our efforts to build the kind of world that is worthy of their legacy.”

Oklahoma City bombing and domestic terrorism

The atmosphere of intolerance that is brewing today is brought to mind as we remember the Oklahoma City bombing victims of 15 years ago. Perhaps to draw attention to themselves, fringe conservatives like Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachman and right-wing Sarah Palin play on the ignorance of anti-government extremists. In other parties, entertainers like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh continue to manipulate the paranoia of a declining demographic of aging undereducated white males for their own personal gain. Whether now or later, there’s a good chance that a delusional psychopath will one day look to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh as a hero and opt to follow in his footsteps.

Oklahoma City bombing underlines threat

Bill Clinton was President at the time the Oklahoma City Bombing took place. Clinton, in an editorial in Monday’s New York Times, said:

” … we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and delirious, connected and unhinged. … In the current climate, with so many threats against the president, members of Congress and other public servants, we owe it to the victims of Oklahoma City, and those who survived and responded so bravely, not to cross [the line] again.”

Encouraging domestic terrorism

This sort of message would be taken to heart with most reasonable people. But then there are the likes of Bachman, who seem to have no concept of what is crass, especially on this day where Americans across the nation remembers a domestic terrorist act that claimed the lives of 168 people and left behind 200 children with no parents or parents without the proper ability to provide the very care they need.

In his Monday New York Times editorial, Clinton cited remarks made by Bachman at a Tea Party rally in Washington when she called the Democratic Congress and the Obama administration “the gangster government.”

“They are not gangsters,” Mr. Clinton said. “They were elected. They are not doing anything they were not elected to do.” Bachman, responding to Clinton’s editorial, said:

“Because I’m using a statement like ‘gangster,’ I’m responsible for creating the climate of hate that could lead to another Timothy McVeigh and another Oklahoma City bombing. I’m in my second term as a Congresswoman, and the former president of the United States decides I’m important enough to take me out!”

Tea Partiers – supporting domestic terrorism?

A CBS News poll found that nearly 40 percent of Americans now believe domestic terrorism is a bigger threat than international terrorism, a marked increase from the foreign-focused fears triggered by 9/11. Along with that, the Nation’s Gregory Mitchell noted, “On McVeigh day, it’s worth remembering that the NYT/CBS poll found 1 in 4 tea partiers saying violence against gov’t can be justified.” Twenty-four percent of self-identified Tea Party members, according to the poll, answered yes when asked, “Do you think it is ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government?”

Fifteen years ago one crazy psychopath used a homemade bomb to kill 168 people, leaving behind more than 600 scarred for life. Perhaps the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing will make entertainers and politicians think twice about posing as faux revolutionaries … don’t hold your breath.