On 25th anniversary of Oklahoma City bombing, Bill Clinton draws parallel to COVID-19 crisis

Former President Bill Clinton penned an essay commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead, including a Secret Service agent and a number of children.

In the essay published in The Oklahoman, Clinton noted how Americans responded to the bombing that he described as "the deadliest act of terror in American history" up to that time.

"First responders, doctors and nurses, and construction workers from across the country put their own lives on hold to aid in the recovery," Clinton noted. "Donations poured in from individuals and organizations of all kinds."

He reflected that the Oklahoma City community "refused to allow an evil act to poison their own hearts, responding instead with what has come to be known as the Oklahoma Standard: a commitment to serving those in need, honoring those lost and damaged by the bombing, and treating all with neighborly kindness."

The former president drew a parallel between the reaction to that evil attack and the coronavirus crisis that the country currently faces.

"The best way to honor those who perished in Oklahoma City, and those all across America lost in the current crisis, is to embrace the Oklahoma Standard: service, honor and kindness," he wrote. "It worked wonders before. It will again."