Former President Bill Clinton is debuting a new video today in which he reflects on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, warning of the threat that toxic political discourse has on democracy.
The video is part of an “Explainer-in-Chief” series that Clinton is doing with ATTN:, the Candle Media division that publishes content fusing entertainment and topical issues.
The bombing, which killed 168 people, took place 29 years ago today. “For every president there are certain days in your presidency you will never forget,” Clinton says in the video. “April 19, 1995, the day of the largest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history is one of those days for me.”
“In the aftermath of the Oklahoma city bombing, I knew that we had a responsibility to do everything we could to ensure that something like this would never happen again,” Clinton says. “But perhaps an even greater responsibility was to urge people all across America to reassess how they talked about and thought about people who disagreed with them. Timothy McVeigh was himself motivated by that extreme rhetoric.” McVeigh was arrested, convicted and executed for perpetrating the attack.
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Clinton said that he “thought it was my duty to help prevent that hatred from spreading to the average citizen.”
“I had to do two things that almost seem contradictory. I had to defend the right of people to speak freely, and assault the content and the predictable consequences of that kind of speech today. I think the challenge is the same. If you just regularly dehumanize people, so that they are no longer people, but ugly cartoons, bad things are going to happen.”
He adds, “A lot of life is about not so much what your opinion is, but how you express it, and how you relate to other people who just don’t agree with you. Democracy is a hard form of government. We are now the longest continuous democracy in human history, even though we are a very young country. And when you ruin democracy, when people don’t have enough regard for each other to listen, learn and chart a path forward, that is what you get. But it isn’t better.”
The video comes amid ongoing concern over the effects of political division and extreme rhetoric, perhaps reflected in the recent box office success of Civil War at the box office. Clinton has reflected on the Oklahoma City bombing a number of times before, including on his podcast and in a Time essay.
Matthew Segal, the co-founder and co-CEO of ATTN:, said in a statement that they hope that the video “encourages all Americans to look beyond the divisiveness – and instead listen to and treat each other with empathy and kindness.”
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The videos are being released on YouTube and Instagram and other social media platforms.
ATTN: and Clinton will release additional videos this year on the politics of dehumanization and the epidemic of loneliness. They will be tied to other moments in Clinton’s presidency, including the dedication of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993 and the White House Conference on Mental Health in 1999. ATTN: and Clinton previously partnered on “Explainer In Chief” videos last year, on topics that included bipartisan solutions to gun violence and Ukrainian solidarity, among other things.
ATTN: also has produced videos featuring former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the series Well Versed, an animated civics project that launched on Nickelodeon with First Lady Jill Biden and former First Lady Laura Bush headlining a debut event in Philadelphia. Also collaborating on the project were Moonbug and iCivics.
Feb 28, 2024; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Javon Small (12) drives around UCF Knights forward Omar Payne (5) during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Javon Small (12) (William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports)
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Darian DeVries’ initial roster at WVU continues to take shape and it appears that the first-year head coach has landed one of the top point guards in the transfer portal. Jon Rothstein reported Thursday evening that former Oklahoma State guard Javon Small has verbally committed to join the Mountaineers.
Oklahoma State transfer Javon Small tells me that he has committed to West Virginia.
Averaged 15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.1 APG last season.
Small averaged 15.1 points per game last season for the Cowboys. He is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard and a native of South Bend, Indiana. Small played two seasons at East Carolina before making the move to Stillwater. In his junior season at OSU, Small dished out a team-best 127 assists. He also led the Cowboys in minutes per game (33), 3-point field goals (61) and free throw percentage (86.6).
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In his lone matchup against WVU this past season on January 27, Small recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Small joins Drake transfer Tucker DeVries, Illinois transfers Amani Hansberry and Sincere Fields, UIC transfer Toby Okani, incoming freshman KJ Tenner and returning players Ofri Naveh and Aden Tagaloa-Nelson on the 2024-2025 roster.
Small played for new WVU Director of Player Personnel/Recruiting Nelson Hernandez at Oklahoma State.
Wednesday evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers picked up yet another commitment out of the transfer portal landing former Oklahoma State guard Javon Small (6’3″, 195 lbs).
Small appeared in 31 games this past season for the Cowboys, averaging 15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 44% from the field and 37% from three-point land. He led the team in scoring and assists while finishing fourth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (86.6%) and in the top 10 in defensive rebounds (4.3).
Small is a solid two-way player that can score the ball from all three levels of the floor and plays with intensity on the defensive end. He notched double figures in 24 of his 31 games played, including going over 20 points six times. At season’s end, Small was named to the All-Big 12 honorable mention team.
The South Bend, Indiana native began his career at East Carolina, spending two seasons there. He saw limited action as true freshman – just nine minutes per game – but blossomed into a high-caliber player in year two with the Pirates, averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 assists per game.
Five Oklahoma Sooners are in the running for college softball’s top individual honor.
Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman, Alyssa Brito, Kinzie Hansen and Kelly Maxwell all made the cut as top 26 finalists for the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award, USA Softball announced on Wednesday.
Oklahoma’s five selections leads all teams, with Tennessee also adding three selections. Duke, Florida and Miami (OH) were the other three schools who also earned multiple selections.
Jennings is the only OU player to start all 49 games this year, and she paces the Sooners with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs and 12 doubles. She’s batting .386 in 2024, and has drawn 28 walks while striking out just nine times. Jennings made the top 10 a year ago alongside Coleman.
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Coleman, the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year, is batting .488 entering the final weekend of the regular season with a slugging percentage of .722 and a 1.266 OPS. She driven in 77 runs and hammered 11 long balls to pair with her always show-stopping defense in center field.
Hansen leads OU with a .441 batting average and has been nothing short of sensational since returning to the lineup. She boasts a .488 on-base percentage, belting eight home runs, six doubles and 27 RBIs.
Brito was again a steady hand for the Sooners at third base and an explosive bat in the lineup. She’s hit 18 home runs, four triples, three doubles and driven in 50 runs. Brito is batting .417 on the year and has a 1.369 OPS entering Bedlam.
In the circle, Maxwell has dazzled as Oklahoma’s ace. Appearing in 24 games, Maxwell has a 1.66 ERA is 16-1 on the year. She’s thrown seven complete games and four shutouts, striking out 107 batters while allowing 34 walks and holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average in 2024.
The list of 26 will be cut down to 10 on May 15, and the top three finalists will be announced on May 20. Finally, the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed in the build up to the Women’s College World Series.
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A Sooner has taken home the award four times. Jocelyn Alo won the award in both 2021 and 2022, and Keilani Ricketts won in both 2012 and 2013.
