Why Do We Apologize?
Jack Wheeler asks the right question. It’s right from a moral perspective and there’s no greater believer in the power of the moral to ultimately triumph as Jack – but we’ll get to that in a moment. There seems to be an inordinate about of apologetics from our political leaders … of both parties. Isn’t it odd that the one country that’s done most to save civilization from the ravages of totalitarianism – by our example of a just society and our military might – should be the one country always apologizing? Even today, while our enemy displays levels of viciousness and barbarity, we are the one expected to apologize for a slight to the enemy’s book of war propaganda ("Fight the Infidel ...")! Jack reminds us of a wonderful line of wisdom from an American movie when they made ‘em like they used to:
“Never apologize, son. It’s a sign of weakness.”Dr. Wheeler (we’ll get to that), who has known and advised past Presidents (trust me, we’ll get to that) suggests an appropriate response:
“I want to make it very clear that neither this Administration nor the American military nor the American people owe an apology whatsoever to the religion of Islam and its believers. The American people have every right to take enormous pride in the respect which our military treats believers in Islam, and in the fact that the American military is not just the most powerful but the most humanitarian fighting force in the history of humankind. It is the Islamic terrorists and their followers who owe us an apology for making war on us, and owe an apology to their fellow believers in Islam for making war on them.”Dr. Wheeler has a long history as a friend and supporter of Ronald Reagan going back to the 1960s. Jack has maintained a moral opposition to communism and urged others to do so – even while “compromise” was considered the practical road to dealing with a foe that was deemed invincible. Reagan embodied the spirit of “never apologize” – instead, he proclaimed and demanded respect for our exceptionalism. Dr. Wheeler, who has a PhD in philosophy, combines a moral analysis with a practical “here’s what needs to get done” spirit in a style that’s unique and optimistic. Hmmm. That reminds me of a past President. In any case, check out his writings on his website.
posted by Jason Pappas at 6:24 AM
3 Comments:
Dr. Wheeler is correct. When a nation apologizes, the rest of the world takes that apology as a sign of weakness. The interactions of nations are much different than the interactions of individuals.
We live in a time of constant apologies, and many times those apologies are offered only to gain time to recoup, to avoid a deserved consequence, or to foster guilt feelings. Ronald Reagan understood the danger of groveling.
America's first priority is to preserve and protect Americans; I trust my government to do that, even though I have been disappointed on a few occasions. When the government is acting in the best interests of its people, there is no reason for any apology and making one is insulting to Americans.
Abu Ghraib was disgusting, but the people involved are in the legal process that will evaluate their culpability. I see no instances where any conduct by military personnel at the facility at Gitmo deserves discussion, much less an apology. This I know for certain: the Gitmo facility is keeping behind lock and key sworn enemies of the United States. How could anyone think that this is a bad thing?
This is absurd at its face value look in the prisons of any Arab country and you will see worse.
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