The Hyperion Chronicles

#40 Timothy McVeigh Part 2: Can a Monster speak the Truth?

“Many foreign nations and peoples hate Americans for the very reasons most Americans loathe me. Think about that.”

-Timothy McVeigh

Ok, let’s recap:

In my last column, I wrote that Timothy McVeigh (and Terry Nichols) could not have pulled off the Oklahoma City bombing on their own, and that the United States Government knew it. I theorized that the Government kept the Middle Eastern connection away from the McVeigh trial because they are scared to let people know the truth; that America is susceptible to terrorist attack. Now, today, even as I write this, news comes that the F.B.I. “forgot” to share certain evidence with the defense team during the McVeigh trial. I feel like a prophet.

While the shockwaves of the Government’s negligence are felt over the next few days, I want to examine Timothy McVeigh’s own words. He wrote a letter to Fox News, which I encourage you to read at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,17500,00.html. In this letter, McVeigh compares himself to the United States Government, and argues that what he did is no more than what the Government has done for years. Again, I want to stress that it is clear that McVeigh committed the bombing. It makes many people uncomfortable to listen to what murderers have to say. But we here at Hyperion Industries are not scared, and we will look at our country, through the eyes of a killer.

“The bombing was a retaliatory strike; a counter attack, for the cumulative raids (and subsequent violence and damage) that federal agents had participated in over the preceding years (including, but not limited to, Waco.)”

-McVeigh

Simply put, Timothy McVeigh contends that his assault on the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was revenge for the assault by the Government on the Branch Dividians in Waco, Texas. In fact, McVeigh committed his murders exactly two years after Waco. Does this excuse McVeigh? Absolutely not. McVeigh is a murderer. What’s more, he did not go after any of the people he considered responsible for Waco and other government intrusions (like Ruby Ridge), but instead he killed 168 innocent people, many of them children. But I will tell you something: It chills me to the bone to read McVeigh’s letter. Because, as evil as he may be, McVeigh is right about the Federal Government. Waco was not the first time nor will it be the last time our Government came into our own homes. In Ruby Ridge, where the F.B.I. shot a woman and a child, the people were white supremacists. In Waco, where over 80 people died, including children, it was a group of cult members. Neo-Klansmen and religious wackos are not favored members of society. Nevertheless, our country was not set up to allow freedom to only those we like. The simple fact is that our citizens have no freedom from our Government, if it feels the need to crack down on us.

And we are not the only ones. America throws it’s weight around the world like a schoolyard bully. When Bill Clinton was under political pressure for the Lewinsky scandal, we bombed an Aspirin factory in Afghanistan. We said we were after terrorists (coincidentally, the same group that the U.S. has been denying was involved in Oklahoma City). During the war in Kosovo, Clinton came under fire again and suddenly the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was “accidentally” bombed. In addition, lest you think that this is only Democrats, remember the ‘80s, when we invaded a small island named Grenada?

I could go on and on about the times the American Government has used force on innocent people, home and abroad. My point here is not to just attack the U.S., but to cry out that the fight for liberty is never over. Right now, we are not at war with any nation, but in another way, we are always at war. In small ways, like gun ownership and tax dollars, freedom is yanked from our grasp by the government with every opportunity. Yes, most of the sieges are on groups we do not care for. Who likes White Supremacists? Who wants to defend cult members? But one day, it could be you, and who will stand up then? It is truly scary that it takes a man seeped in evil to point out a great truth. Once more, from the killer: “Americans have the choice to try to learn from me, or they can choose to remain ignorant, and suffer the consequences.”

Next up, we will look at whether McVeigh’s execution, or any execution, should be televised, for the entire world to see.

Until then, stay safe and free

Hyperion
May 11, 2001