Appropriate apology

Troubling it is – this latest rancor coming from the Christian right. It saddens me to hear our president labeled as anti-American for sending an apology to President Karzai about the burning of Korans that has led to such violence. To the contrary, his apology was at least partly for the sake of protecting American lives in Afghanistan. Referencing a somewhat similar incident for which President George Bush apologized to the president of Iraq, White House spokesman Jay Carney explained, "…that's appropriate for the same reason, because our concern -- this president's concern, as was surely the case with President Bush, is the safety and security of our men and women in uniform, as well as our civilians in Afghanistan. …one of the reasons that it's appropriate to express our sincere apologies for this incident is that the kind of reaction that it can cause risks putting our men and women in harm's way, or in further risk than they already are. So I think that precedent is a useful one to look at."

Besides closely following the precedent established by past administrations, this apology is also in line with the foreign policy changes promised by President Obama. His plan to repair U.S. relations with the rest of the world was one of the things that first impressed me about him and is one area where he has, in my opinion, followed through with reason, wisdom and sensitivity.

Much of the ill will toward America from the rest of the world can be linked to the perception that we are arrogant and insensitive bullies. Recent presidents including Ronald Reagan and George Bush have seen the wisdom for some measure of humility and compassion and have both issued apologies to other countries for unfortunate events that happened on their watch. It would seem that some of the candidates currently battling for the high office would prefer to go back to a path of brash power that leaves no room for apology or sensitivity. I admit that that path is very scary to me.