Why is it so hard for people to say that they are sorry? Perhaps it is because saying sorry draws attention to the fact that you made an error in judgement. It means that you have recognized that you made a mistake. Worst of all, it means that you have recognized that you were wrong.
We are all human, and as humans we all make mistakes. To deny that fact is to be out of out of touch with reality. It is hard enough to get family members or friends to say sorry to one another, and when talking about politicians, forget about it.
President Bush and The Bush Administration made a terrible mistake when they decided to invade Iraq in March of 2003. It has since cost hundreds of thousands of lives, well over 4,000 of which were American military men and women. Let's also not forget about the hundreds of thousands that have been injured and disabled for life as a result of the Iraq War.
The Bush Administration had originally invaded Iraq based on the primary belief that the Saddam Hussein regime had ties to al-Qaeda and were developing nuclear and biological weapons. We all remember the infamous address by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations where he pinpointed exactly where the production of weapons of mass destruction was taking place, or so he thought.
Fact of the matter is, as we clearly know today, is that Saddam Hussein's regime was not developing WMD's, nor did they have relations with al-Qaeda. Sure the Hussein regime was extremely evil and corrupt, but that is no reason to invade a country. If the U.S. was to invade every country with an evil and corrupt government we would be at war in South America, Africa, Asia, and, well, all over the world. The Bush Administration clearly made a mistake by invading Iraq and has never, to this day, apologized and admitted that they were wrong for doing so.
Admitting one's wrongs holds no political barriers. President Obama and the Obama Administration also seem to be guilty of being unable to say sorry to the American people. During his campaign and early on in office, President Obama promised the American people that if the gargantuan stimulus package was passed the unemployment rate of this country would not exceed 8%.
Well, when President Obama took office the American unemployment rate was at 7.2%. Almost a year down the road and hundreds of billions of dollars later the unemployment rate has jumped to 10.2%. Not only does the Obama Administration refuse to apologize to the American people, but they insist that the stimulus has been working. A jobless recovery is not what the Obama Administration had intended back in January of this year when President Obama told us that the stimulus package would stop the unemployment rate from growing over 8%.
As we all know, saying sorry is a very difficult thing to do. It takes vulnerability and admitting one's wrongs. The Bush apologetics and Obama apologetics are diluted, and in complete denial. Not being able to recognize that we all make mistakes is to be out of touch with reality, even if that mistake was at the expense of human lives or billions of dollars of debt for subsequent generations to come. We need more honest apologetics in Washing D.C.
1 comment:
This is interesting, and true. The day a politician says sorry and admits to a major mistake (such as the Iraq War and Obama stimulus package as you have stated) is the day Fox News admits that they are not news.
That being said, it can be argued that the Obama stimulus has worked, and that if it hadn't been passed we may have gone into another Great Depression. Furthermore, it could be argued that it has only been a year since the stimulus, and that President Obama stated from the get go that the stimulus would take 2 or 2 1/2 years.
However, President Obama did indeed state that the stimulus would prevent unemployment from exceeding 8%, and for that I doubt he will ever apologize.
I would however put my money that Obama apologizes for the stimulus over Bush or Cheney apologizing for ANYTHING. It is sad that they can not admit to their mistakes. Obviously admitting a wrong to a war that they started at the expense of thousands of lives would devastate those families that have fallen soldiers. On the other hand, I and many others would greatly respect them for doing so. Admitting a wrong takes some real courage.
Interesting article. Keep it up buddy.
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