On 2009-Jan-26, at 23:03, Roger Howard wrote: > No, I'm imagining that until history has closed the book on that > chapter > it's premature to offer anything but hope for change. Will Obama do > any > better than Bush? I'd love to think so. But one thing we've often > seen - > and this isn't an American phenomenon - is that things change once > you get > into office. Whether they learn details they weren't privy to prior to > taking office, whether there are previously-unimagined pressures and > influences, or whether the situation changes, it's premature to > apologize > for something that's ongoing and whose resolution is hardly > guaranteed. > For instance: > > - the war - not over > - Gitmo - still open > - torture - no one knows
Well to come back to a mundane example, I tried this one with my wife. I turn up late, again. This time I figure, I won't apologize. Instead I'll save the apology for some future date when I have been on time for a significant period, thus proving that I really am genuine about being on time. Funny thing is, she still expected an apology, right now. Even if we both know it is likely to happen again. People say what's the use of an apology, as words are cheap. Well it begins with an apology. If you're not even willing to say the words, what hope is there for actions to follow? The argument that the "words are meaningless anyway" is just a dodge. Stefano _______________________________________________ OSX-Nutters mailing list | [email protected] http://lists.tit-wank.com/mailman/listinfo/osx-nutters List hosted at http://cat5.org/
