The Power of Oklahoma City

Adam Arenson, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

I can’t remember what I was doing at 9:02 a.m. Central Time, on April 19th, 1995, when the bombing happened. It was a Wednesday. How did I hear? I think I knew of the tragic events only later in the day. I did not stand around the television that morning, as I and so many did on 9/11. Last week, a business meeting took me to Oklahoma for the first time. The impact of the memorial was instant and visceral. The memorial works. And my hopes for such a successful memorial at the World Trade Center site are fading. I pray that those in New York can succeed at this unwanted task at the level that Oklahoma City has.