Clinton urges Americans to 'put aside resentment' as he marks 30 years of deadly Oklahoma City bombing

Former US President Bill Clinton urged Americans to put aside “resentment” as he returned to Oklahoma City on Saturday for a remembrance service for the 30th anniversary of the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack in US history. The 78-year-old left his mark in history after he helped the city grapple with its grief in the aftermath of the April 1995 bombing, which killed 168 people, including 19 children.

He began his speech by saying he wanted to offer a message of unity to fellow Americans. “If our lives are going to be dominated by efforts to dominate people we disagree with, we’re going to put the 250-year-old march toward a more perfect union at risk,” he said. “None of us would ever get much done. Believe me, we’ve all got something to be mad about," he furthered.

Clinton was just over two years in office during his first term when a truck bomb destroyed a nine-story US government building in the city’s downtown. In his Saturday address, the former president recalled how he was jogging with the winners of the Boston Marathon on the morning of the attack at the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building.

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“Thirty years ago, I thought I was going to have a different day,” he said. Most of the people who lost their lives were public servants, as we all know,” Clinton said. “What they did every day was a matter of choice, showing up for work, to do business for the American people.”

‘The country has grown more polarized’: Clinton

In his address, Clinton said that “in recent years the country has grown more polarized”. He also brought political forewarnings of the Oklahoma bombing into the present. “The terrorist who did this awful thing believed that it would spark a nationwide upheaval against the American government,” he said, “and would eventually destroy our government and democracy.

“A lot of times a fanatic will tell you: ‘Sorry, this, that or the other thing had to happen but, you know, there had to be collateral damage sometimes to make a statement,’” he said. “But I’ve never heard anybody say that who had to live with the damage.”

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Clinton emphasised that Oklahoma City taught the country how to manage the response to tragedy. He referred to the “Oklahoma standard”, the resilient attitude described by news media and first responders to the tragedy, which was later embraced by the state and defined as “a statewide initiative preserving and promoting a culture of caring citizens by encouraging acts of service, honour and kindness”.

“We can still find a way to move forward together with the Oklahoma standard,” he said. “We were there for you when you needed us. America needs you, and America needs the Oklahoma Standard. We all live by it," he furthered. Clinton also took a quick potshot at Trump’s age. “I’m old and can’t run for anything any more,” Clinton said. “I’m almost as old as President Trump," he joked.

With inputs from agencies.