Let Me Explain...

I believe there are three words or phrases that have become lost in translation in this day and age.

They are please, thank you and I'm sorry.

I'm a big believer in all three, but they seem to have fallen by the wayside in everyday conversation.

The first two should be automatic, ingrained in our psyche from the time we could speak, but the third has become almost a dead language with some people in our culture.

It's almost as if the phrase indicates some sort of weakness in a society where everyone thinks, or wants to think, they are in charge.

A nation full of generals and no infantry.

Part of the reason for this lies in the 'explanation' generation.

A logic that dictates that no one is at fault for anything.

There's a good reason for everything that happens.

Here let me explain it to you.

The resulting debate over guilt results in an on-going need to explain one's position, even if they are wrong, to the point where emotions boil over and the conflict goes unresolved.

A situation that could be defused with two simple words, "I'm sorry".

Throw in "my bad" if it's more to your liking.

A friend of mine said lawyers are to blame for the inability to accept responsibility.

Hey, lawyers gotta eat too and some have gotten pretty stuffed on liability suits.

But the beauty of "I'm sorry" is the way it can end a debate, sometimes almost instantaneously.

Then again, if the offense is too deep, the phrase might need to be accompanied by some time.

But at least we're on the road to recovery, and not stuck in an endless rut of mindless reasoning that serves only to prolong the agony.

I'm done with the explanations.

Cue up the "I'm sorry", whether I'm at fault or not.

And if the explanations continue anyway, I'll add another phrase to my list of favorites.

"Shut up".