One of the most useful tasks of apology is to bring home to us how keenly, honestly, and painfully past generations pursued aims that now seem to us wrong and disgraceful. It behooves us to consider if future geenrations will similarly regard the aims we most defend today.

"I would like to apologize" may sound like an apology, but it is no more an actual apology than saying "I would like to lose weight" makes you suddenly slimmer.

Accepting the apology signals the acknowledgment of a need to move forward, but not necessarily together.

Apologies have more power than most of us realize to restore strained relationships, free us from vengeful impulses, and create possibilities for growth.

No apology is equal to the task set before it.

Apology is not for the faint of heart, but then, neither is life.

We value apology in the abstract, but turn our backs on it in practice.