Apologizing to Your Countrymen
September 2nd, 2007, 2 Comments »
I just read this article about the released South Korean missionaries’ somber homecoming:
Relatives of the two men held their portraits as they stood on either side of one of the remaining 19 hostages, Yoo Kyung-sik, who apologized to the nation during a news conference.
“We went to Afghanistan to practise sharing love,” Yoo said. “However, we were kidnapped accidentally, and caused the whole country to worry. We also apologize to the government.”
Good for them. Anybody who acts irresponsibly and requires their government to expend resources–particularly extraordinary resources–to rescue them ought to publicly apologize.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a rescued out-of-bounds skier or hiker apologize for their behaviour. Maybe they do and it doesn’t get reported? I also think they should pay every penny of the cost of their rescue. I guess that price tag would be pretty huge for those 19 Koreans.