Sorry came too late

Regret.

It's that twinge we all feel at the realization that we have done something we wish we hadn't. For some of us regret can relate to a smaller action: spending too much money on something frivolous, choosing the wrong ice cream flavor at the local Dairy Queen, not studying for a test when the opportunity to do so arose.

However, regret usually does not exist on such a small scale and it usually impacts more than just the person who committed the regretful act. One of my own memories of such a feeling was when I was about nine years old and I went next door to play with a friend, leaving my little sister on the other side of the fence yelling about the unfairness of the situation. The decision seemed right to me-- I got my friend all to myself, and my younger sister was not around to embarrass me-- yet when looked back to my yard and saw my sister alone, swinging on our swing set, the twingy guilt struck me hard. I regretted my decision to leave her there alone, and will always do so, because I will always feel that twinge when the memory surfaces. The only thing I can do when I think about it is apologize to my sister for making her

According to recent news, leaving little sisters behind is not the only cause for regretful apologies. Cnn.com recently published a story relating details of the House of Representatives contemplating a resolution to make a federal, formal apology for Jim Crow laws created in the South during the early 1900s.

Great. After more than 50 years of not acknowledging the injustice that was committed against an entire race of people, our government is now thinking of apologizing.

True, it is a good thing that the federal government is at least acknowledging it was wrong all those years ago, but after the destruction and degradation it caused, an apology seems somehow menial. If the U.S. government really wants to acknowledge the injustice of Jim Crow laws, do something to rectify it. While reparations often seem difficult to pay out, there are other ways to right wrongs.

Put more funds toward underprivileged educational systems that might have previously in areas that were affected by Jim Crow laws, or create better employment programs. Anything to possibly improve the status quo.

Admitting and apologizing for something that has become known as universally wrong seems so easy. Of course, the U.S. can apologize now, the government knows it will not drastically change anything at this point. If the U.S. had apologized even 20 years after the laws were abolished would have meant more than an apology that has come almost a century too late.

Perhaps in another 30 years, the U.S. will contemplate apologizing for Japanese Internment Camps during WWII. Got to keep these things timely.