A horrific thing happened the other day at work. I won't go into detail, but I will admit that I was very foolish and unwise in a particular action, and my co-workers were quite disgruntled (rightfully so).
It was two days before I realized something was wrong in the office--no one had confronted me about the situation. However, when I was made aware of the issues, I felt a rush of emotions. First, I experienced anger, that something about me had been exposed to other people, then, sadness, worry, fear, guilt, and shame.
I took some time to apologize to each of my co-workers, hoping that would ease a little of the sting from the mishap. Most forgave me. Some will never forgive me. It is important to note that those who forgave me were my friends before the incident. And those who did not forgive me were people who I'm not too sure about, anyway.
But in any case, I am still embarrassed about the situation, and want to crawl into a hole over the whole thing. Curl up and hibernate until everyone else has forgotten about the matter. The hardest thing to do in life is admit one is wrong, and apologize to others who do not care for one, anyhow. I believe it is our defense mechanism to get angry to protect those vulnerable parts of ourselves before laying bare our souls and minds, and forgiving one another. Why is God's way so much more difficult at times than what is instinctual?
While I was thinking about my sins that I have carried out against others, I was also thinking about Kwami Kilpatrick. He is the mayor of Detroit, and you may have seen him in the news, recently. Here is a man that is constantly hounded by the press for buying his wife a Lincoln Navigator with city funds and racking up the charge cards of Detroit. Kwami was caught pushing a reporter away from him, and using almost 'thug-like' posses whenever he wanders about Detroit. The media loves to hate him, and show America what can happen when a big, young, black man is given a political seat as important as the one of 'mayor'.
He is by far an immodest example of politician. However, I was thinking about Kwami when I made my grievous error, because here is a man that constantly is bearing his transgressions to his voters. His approval rating is pathetically low, yet he still walks about the riverfront of Detroit to shake hands and take pictures with children. He has made effort to vitalize the downtown area of Detroit; this is a lofty ambition for a town that has seen better days. And yet, the media has not forgiven him for his transgressions.

And then, there is President George W. Bush, Jr. Here is a man that goes to war with another country on false premises. Here is a man that probably bought his first election, and most certainly doctored other elections. Here is a man that appoints unlikely candidates to the U.N. without Senate backing. Bush ignores most protocol of other, modest presidents; he lies, he gambles with lives, and he surrenders the Middle Class, and he does so with no abandon. When called on the table (much as I was, and Kwami is constantly), this man does not back down and admit fault, nor take steps to right his wrongs. And yet, the media adores him, and is careful about him. Why is that?

I am like the Kwami's of the world; I make a lot of really bad decisions and a quite a few good ones. I hold myself accountable to the errors I've made, and try to not hurt other humans. When I do hurt others, I make sure that I apologize, and attempt to not do those things again. It takes a lot of guts to admit when one is wrong, especially when instinct jumps in and says, "Hey, don't admit anything. Just stay angry and get other people out of your way." Bush sticks to that kind of reason; when faced with consequences to his actions, he defends himself to the point of ridicule. Everyone else can see he is a fool. Only he is so foolish to not work past his instinct, his lower primate skills, to admit to his followers, "Yes, I have committed sin, and I am sorry. America, please forgive me."

Jesus asks his followers to love their neighbors, treat them as they would be treated, and forgive enemies. Jesus asks us to do exactly what we don't WANT to do on many occasions. But when we take the bull by the horns and address our own faults, Jesus is happy with us, and Buddha smiles. Hopefully, Kwami and I will recover from a bad patch. I have no idea what is in store for George W. Bush.