Posted on 03/09/2006 12:38:19 PM PST by Tolik
Americans have lost the art of saying "I am sorry."
...<snip>
Former President Bill Clinton fine-tuned the art of today's approach to public remorse. His apologies — to Guatemalans, Iranians, Okinawans, Rwandans and dozens of others — were often cosmic in nature; they offered contrition for almost everything America has done or not done, from slavery and the ill treatment of American Indians to the rampages of Gen. Sherman.
...<snip>
So if Clinton really wished to apologize for America's past support for the Shah of Iran, he could just as easily have done so at a veterans' convention in Memphis or Salt Lake City. But when proclaimed at the World Economic Forum in chic Davos, Switzerland, Clinton's regret seemed cost-free and aimed at wining applause at the expense of his countrymen back home. And like Gore's one-sided confessional, Clinton's remorse did not mention that the Islamic fascism that followed the Shah was at least as odious — and wholly indigenous.
Fifth, war is the wrong time to start apologizing. Gen. George Marshall did not tell the Germans in 1943 that we were sorry for previously harassing German Americans in 1917. Nor during the Cuban missile crisis did President Kennedy offer Nikita Khrushchev remorse that we tried to subvert the Russian revolution in 1918-20. There is a proper occasion for voicing collective regret, and wartime is not it.
In the old days, apologies — said once, without an agenda and involving one's own sins — revealed character. Now too often they reflect just the opposite.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Let me know if you want in or out.
Links: FR Index of his articles: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson
His website: http://victorhanson.com/ NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
As usual, VDH hits the nail on the head.
I used to work with a feminist years ago who took exception to seemingly everything..people were apologizing to her for things said several times a week, whether or not the apology was warranted..it got to the point that no one would talk to her for fear of offending her for some unseen reason..it worked so well she filed a discrimination suit that stated no one wanted anything to do with her cause she was a woman...couldn't win for losin..
In any event, apologies should be issued for real offenses, not imagined ones..
Bill Clinton never ever apologized for his misdeeds. But he did issue cynical apologies, "cosmic apologies", for slavery etc. that he had no connection with. He apologized for things this great nation did, but never for his own mistakes
He apologized for General Sherman? When? How? (I know this is beside the point, but I found that tidbit curious.)
Sixth, if you're a conservative, apologies are pointless, and interpreted by the liberals as an admission of guilt - an excuse to expedite punishment, not a pass to instant forgiveness. Trent Lott apoloigized profusely about his remarks about Strom Thurmond, but in the liberal world, he will forever be cast by liberals as a racist.
It's a bit like a doctor. If the doctor leaves the surgery and delivers tragic news to the family and utters the words "I'm sorry", he just set himself up for a massive lawsuit. Doctors are trained to say "We did all we could". Apologies just invite trouble in that sad situation.
Likewise, if a Republican were to "admit mistakes" (the Left ALWAYS wants Bush to do this) then we'd never hear the end of it "He did did thus-and-such -- and he ADMITTED IT!!!!"
read later.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.