Apology mania
By Gorman Beauchamp
- Beauchamp argues that apologizing and offering reparations generations after the offense is meaningless.
- It is appropriate to offer reparations to those who suffered and are still alive - such as slaver laborers in Nazi Germany, Japanese Americans forced into internment camps, etc.
- When do the apologies stop? Where can we draw the line?
- There is much that can be learned from history, but offering apologies and reparations for mistakes is an empty gesture. The most we can do is learn from our mistakes as we move forward.
"...apologies to the long-dead are 'gestural feints toward now-empty victim categories'"
History depresses, saddens, chastens, tempers, and rigorously instructs us. It's an essential process... But 'no more apologies.'"