CLOSER LOOK: April 4, 1998: Sorry About All That

Sorry About All That

Sorry for some of that: The Church apologized for the 'errors and failures' of Roman Catholics during the Holocaust, but did not extend blame to Pope Pius XII Bazemore

Sometimes apologies are workable only after the principals are long dead. Canada has apologized for its turn-of-the-century treatment of indigenous peoples, which included placing Inuit children in orphanages and raising them in Western culture, while in Australia, where the practice continued until 1964, the government has expressed deep regret but won't formally apologize for fear of lawsuits.

But wait a minute. The potential for more of this breast-beating is larger. Is there an apology for what the Spanish did to the Aztecs? The Vikings to the Irish? Puff Daddy to pop music? As the Wall Street Journal recently asked in an exasperated op-ed, "Who's Sorry Now?"

Indeed. Who next? The danger, of course, is that each half-assed, centuries-late apology cheapens legitimate contrition. An apology for slavery is well and good, but coming from this president 137 years after Lincoln freed the slaves it sounds more than a little hollow.

The question of reparations has been a hot one ever since 1988, when President Reagan signed into law a deal to pay $20,000 to each of the 60,000 Japanese-Americans who were placed in internment camps during WWII. Of course there was more than a little self-interest in this; the Japanese looked like they were about to buy America, and America wanted to play nice.

Since then, governmental apologies are expected (continued)

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