Forgiveness is Earned

I want an apology. I want to hear "we're sorry for those things we said, we don't know what we were thinking." I want to see someone shaking his or her head, crying, and begging for us to not think of them as horrible people. I want people to stand up, and accept responsibility for the people they have hurt, the lies they have told, and the inappropriate behavior they have displayed.

Think of it like a permission slip - a formality. Something that you have to do in order to be accepted back into the fold and trusted again. I'm tired of brushing bad behavior under the rug, because it only piles up, and sometimes begins to stink.

Now, when so many of us are reaching out, trying to mend the broken ties, some people really need to grow up. A lot of people are content to forgive, unconditionally. I'm different, and I want all of those racist, reactionary, angry Tea Partiers to say that they are sorry.