Commentary By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



This week marked the somber anniversaries of two events that changed America — the Oklahoma City bombing (April 19, 1995) and the massacre at Columbine High School (April 20, 1999).

Both of the events are important to our nation’s history, but for different reasons. The OKC bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in our nation’s history. The Columbine attacks remains one of the top-5 deadliest attacks at a school.

The importance of the attacks basically boils down to what we’ve learned since the events. By my humble estimation, we probably haven’t learned much.

In both cases, it’s hard to say what may have prevented such atrocities.

The Oklahoma City bombing was committed by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, two ultra-conservatives who were upset over the government’s handling (or mishandling) of the siege at Waco and Ruby Ridge.

In the case of Columbine, it was two disillusioned teenagers — Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold — who were obsessed with violent video games and music. Their nerdy awkwardness also made them a target of taunting in the halls of their high school.

To put it mildly, all four of these individuals had some sort of mental screw loose. At least that’s what we’re forced to believe. Who else could commit such actions? Monsters, that’s who.

The sad part is, somewhere along the way, some warning signs were missed. McVeigh and Nichols openly spoke about their plans to anyone who would listen. They even tried (unsuccessfully) to draft co-conspirators into their plans.

In the case of Harris and Klebold, there was obviously some lack of parenting going on there. Under what roof does a parent or guardian not know that their child is stockpiling guns and explosives?

So, what can be done nationally to prevent further atrocities? It’s really hard to say. Under President George W. Bush’s watch, the National Security Agency began an extensive domestic spying program in an effort to prevent another 9/11. And while our nation has not been attacked by foreign terrorists since, who’s keeping tabs on the McVeighs and the Nichols of the world?

The incident at Columbine forced school leaders across the country to take a hard and fast look at security in the classroom. Columbine wasn’t the first school shooting in the nation’s history and it likely won’t be the last. After all, last week (April 16) was the two-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre that killed 32 students.

The killer, Seung-Hui Cho, purchased a gun at a local gun store without being scrutinized by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Cho even made mention of Harris and Klebold in a series of rambling messages he recorded before the massacre.

In all three cases, mistakes were made. People who could have stopped these atrocities did nothing and said nothing. Much like in the case of the 9/11 hijackers, no one thought it was strange that foreign pilots wanted to learn how to fly a plane, but not how to land.

There are no easy answers to prevent such future acts of terror, except for the obvious ones — listen and observe. God forbid such horrible acts ever happen again, but paying close attention to those who are mentally or emotionally unstable and hurting may be the best form of prevention.