Can the Oklahoma Standard Stand Up for Something?

Resilience must mean more now

Mar 25, 2025

As a kid, I visited downtown Oklahoma City in April of 1995, not too long after the bombing of The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. With my homemade poster in hand, I saw all the images I’d been seeing on TV for weeks, the barely standing federal building in the distance behind a barrier adorned with messages of love, support and mourning. There were little teddy bears, artificial flowers, posters of missing people, flags, ball caps, t-shirts, ornaments, letters, and poems, all tied to the chain link fence. I found a spot for my poster, fastened it, and looked out at the rubble where I imagined our family friend still lie.

Little evidences of compassion were everywhere as crews worked to clear the site, and somewhere behind the scenes, countless volunteers worked to organize support for families, survivors, and first responders. People and businesses got out and helped however they could. Everything from pizza deliveries, battery drop offs, and shared homemade bread to clothing, bedding, and blood donations. Everyone wanted to do something to somehow make this better.

The extent to which Oklahomans rallied behind the response to and recovery from the domestic terrorist attack was so singular that it gained a national reputation. The “Oklahoma Standard” was later used as a guide for other places when they were hit with a disaster. To this day, it is a known term among everyday Oklahomans and is taught in schools.

I was reminded of this history while watching a local newscast covering Oklahoma’s unrelenting wildfires. When a reporter talked about residents stepping up to show support for fire crews, she dropped the term with a sense of pride and hope amid the devastation that dominated her backdrop. “People in the community are living up to the Oklahoma Standard.”

Pitching in with the recovery has become a usual response, and a part of everyone’s healing. It is a part of what makes people feel invested in and connected to a disaster, even when they aren’t personally affected. It also actually helps those who are most acutely touched by whatever horrific event has occurred.

As I grew up, I heard the conversation about how to move forward from the April 19th bombing. So many people from all parts of the state cared deeply about the outcome. I saw surveys, renderings, construction, and the final product of a memorial park, museum, and new federal building. All of it was rife with symbolism and resident participation.

Still in this part of recovery, all hands were on deck.

The result was beautiful. In the national memorial park, there is a reflection pool, a wall honoring survivors, spaces for children to express their emotions, an orchard representing first responders, and 168 empty light-filled seats for each of the victims. There is a platform protecting and showcasing the Survivor Tree, the lone American elm that made it through the blast, and continues to grow as a sign of resilience to all that know its story. Next to the park are a museum of the bombing and a rebuilt federal building.

Everywhere you look, you find places for honoring lives, understanding the human impact behind a headline, and finding peace through reflection. A big message that designers took care to convey was that our resilience and compassion are more powerful than any violence. We come together and are stronger.

But I wonder…

What happens when the people and places Okies love are threatened by the man they voted for? When they face the winds of a disaster they helped create?

This month, Elon and his DOGE team earmarked the new OKC federal building as a “non-core property,” meaning that offices may be relocated and the building could be sold off. The building, which was built back and connected to the bombing memorial with state of the art security, is still very much active. It houses more than 350 federal employees from a host of departments.

In an official statement, Democratic State Senator Mark Mann said, “The agencies and employees housed in the Oklahoma City Federal Building provide valuable services to Oklahoma, the region and the country. Enough is enough. It’s time for Oklahoma’s congressional delegation to stand up to Trump.”

Fellow Democratic State Senator Forrest Bennett backed him up, saying, “the Trump Administration’s DOGE efforts have proven to be reckless. Their reports of cost savings have proven to be inaccurate… and the unilateral nature of their firings and closures are legally questionable at best.”

US Rep. and Trump supporter Stephanie Bice commented that she doesn’t think the building will stay on the list, and promised that she will do everything she can to make sure that it doesn’t shut down.

Some residents spoke out too. Last week there was a protest in OKC outside a Tesla dealership, where people specifically targeted Musk and DOGE. Their messages relayed support for federal employees and veterans.

But still, I don’t know how much this spirit of protective protest is catching. I haven’t seen much evidence of overwhelming push back in local news. And even the most loyal bombing memorial stakeholder, its CEO, is expressing generosity toward the president’s proposal, despite some misgivings. It seems like the Oklahoma Standard doesn’t necessarily apply when political loyalties are on the line. When victims are not covered in dust and ash, and when the culprit isn’t as cut and dry as a bomber or tornado.

When Musk tramples over sacred ground and the livelihoods tied to it, will it kick in? When Trump and his Republican yes men traumatically desecrate a place of healing, will community members stand against them? If this isn’t the moment to stand together, to stand for something, I don’t know what is.

In a month, Oklahomans will host their annual OKC Memorial Marathon on the weekend after the 30th anniversary of the bombing. Leading up to these events, Oklahoma is repeating its 168 days to remember, honoring victims and survivors with a day of vigil dedicated just to them. There is also a motorcycle Ride to Remember, a first responders’ night at the museum, and free entry at the museum. Local traditions, long honored, lifting up the strength it takes to show up for our community in significant ways.

The state has a full month to reflect on what this place and a threat to it means. They have events dedicated to bringing people together to remember a lost building with innocent and loved people lost inside it. They have a repeated, collective narrative: this cannot happen again. And as their fellow Oklahomans suffer from Social Security office closures, federal job cuts, federal support for farms cut, and now relinquished commitments to the OKC Federal Building, they have a call to rise to these challenges.

When people look at the Survivor Tree, they are supposed to be reminded of its resilience, which, in the description given by the museum, means its ability to endure. It stood after being attacked. It recovered and went on to thrive.

But I would say it represents a heck of a lot more to live up to the description of resilient. Yes, it survived. And then it recovered. And then it grew and branched out further. Along the way, it inspired others to reflect in its shade and tend to it with great care. It became a recognizable symbol that instills peace, sadness, determined resolve, and open heartedness, all in one glance.

The tree was strong in its survival, but it wasn’t unchanged. Its evolution made it greater, made it more able to respond to an ever-changing environment.

It’s time now for the Oklahoma Standard to grow and branch out. We don’t need to take hit after hit to prove we are steadfast. We may be able to weather some tough storms, but we can’t call ourselves strong if we let in a preventable disaster. If through hardship, we learned nothing about protecting ourselves and our loved ones. If in the practice of bringing meals and supplies to our neighbors, we missed the wisdom of how to create a loving and supportive societal structure.

Now is the time for Oklahomans to recognize the all-hands-on-deck need for a new kind of showing up, the kind that refuses to let our beloved community be run over by anyone’s agenda. We need to embrace the kind of activism in our communities that demands more from the rich and powerful, and depends less on the selfless giving of those without resources. While we keep the kindness and open-hearted giving, we must update our understanding of resilience to include the growing strength that comes from standing with others for justice.

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

Are you from a red state? What are your hopes during this time?

What is something from this administration that voters won’t stand for, no matter their political affiliation?

Parks People

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