At the beginning of March a group of campaigners dressed in yokes and chains started a 250-mile walk from Hull (the home city of abolitionist William Wilberforce) to London. Among other things, they sought an apology for the slave trade.
I applaud their motives and also their stamina in embarking on such a walk, but I do wonder what is the use of this and the burgeoning fashion for demanding an apology for things which have occurred in the distant past and, in many cases, beyond the lifetimes of anyone now living.
Look up ‘Apologies’ on the internet and you will find there are two million pages of them. Some, of course, are private ones while others relate to hurt feelings or things that have been said about someone.
Others relate to official apologies, and there are a surprising number of them. Here are just six to illustrate the point:
In 1993, the US Congress passed a Resolution acknowledging the 100th anniversary of its overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and offering an apology for it.
In the same year, the Anglican Church of Canada apologised to its native people for its part in suppressing their language and identity and for the abuses they inflicted on them.
In 1998 the Anglican Church of Australia apologised for its part in the removal and relocation of Aboriginal children from their families.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II apologised for the errors of the Catholic Church over the previous 2,000 years.
In 2005, the Japanese Prime Minister offered an apology for his country’s WWII aggression in Asia.
In 2006, President Blair - never to be found wanting for a soundbite - offered regret for Britain’s failure to relieve the mid-19th century Irish Potato Famine.
These are just half a dozen of the apologies on record which I certainly do not mean to trivialise or demean. Some of those to be found on the internet are more important than others, but all are apologies nonetheless.
And yet. I do wonder what is achieved by these apologies especially when they relate to things beyond current living memory - the Irish Potato Famine in Victorian times, for instance. Does an apology from a person who did not himself experience the things being apologised for count for much except to gain ‘points’ of some sort? Can a body that was not functioning when the things apologised for achieve much except for a measure of political gain? Does someone whose ancestor died in a famine or who was a plantation slave feel any better for the apologies issued generations afterwards? Does a person feel comforted that the US government has apologised for overthrowing his country's monarchy?
I’m not sure, is my answer to these questions. But then, I am a natural-born cynic.
‘I’m sorry!’ ‘Oh, that’s all right, then!’