I am sorry
Posted
by Harry Kraemer | Mar 23, 2026 | 6 |
Let me first start with
the background:
I believe I am truly
blessed to have been born in the United States of America. I often tell people
that I won the lottery. To be part of the longest-standing continuous democracy
on the face of the earth for 250 years is something truly unique. I always
focus on reminding my family how really blessed we are.
As a result of this
blessing, I feel a responsibility to take time to self reflect on my unique
situation as an American. My great grandparents and grandparents on both sides
of my family were immigrants from Europe and started with very little. Nonetheless,
they taught me a set of strong values. I was told to make sure I did my best to
uphold these values and respectfully challenge others that don’t uphold them. I
was constantly taught, “Harry, treat every human being the way you’d like to be
treated. Do not call people derogatory names. Respect every human being,
regardless of race, gender, and nationality. Set an example for others of how
people should be treated.”
As I spent time this
weekend on my self reflection, I realized that I’ve read many statements and
actions by our senior government officials that violate these values, and I
realize someone needs to apologize to the recipients of these statements. Since
I’m so blessed to be an American, I decided I’m one of the people who should be
apologizing.
Here are just a few of
the things that I am sorry to see as an American, and I would ask the
recipients and their families to accept my sincere apology:
1.
I would like to
apologize to the family of Robert Mueller, a decorated recipient of the bronze
star in Vietnam, and the former head of the FBI. Mr. Mueller died the other
day, and instead of recognizing him for all his achievements, President Trump
stated: “Good, I am glad he’s dead.” I literally could not believe this comment
from the president of the United States.😳
2.
I would like to
apologize to the Prime Minister of Japan and to all of my friends in Japan.
When asked why President Trump did not let American allies know he was going to
attack Iran, he told the Prime Minister in a press conference, “Who knows
better about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn’t you tell me about Pearl
Harbor?” Seriously?!?! I am embarrassed as an American. (Is this the way to
treat allies?)😱
3.
I would like to
apologize to all of my friends and colleagues in Latin America. Clearly, we
have significant issues regarding immigration. However, to categorize the
people coming from Latin America as terrible people is not how to treat fellow
human beings and allies: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime.
They’re rapists….”
4.
I would like to
apologize to President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine. I am still
embarrassed (for an incident that I think is two years old) when our president
and vice president accused Zelenskyy of starting the war with Russia and not
being thankful to the United States. Every time I watch that video, I feel the
need to truly apologize as an American.
5.
I am well aware that in
war terrible things can happen. Nonetheless, I want to sincerely apologize to
the Iranian parents who lost more than 100 of their children as a result of a
missile attack on their school. As the father of five children and two grandchildren,
I can only imagine how difficult this loss is for the parents and families
involved.
6.
I want to apologize to
the members of the Supreme Court who performed their duties, but nonetheless,
were called by our President “UnAmerican” and “should be ashamed of
themselves.” Seriously?!?!
7.
I really try to focus on
having a balanced perspective and always referring to Saint Francis’s comment,
“I seek to understand before I am understood.” In Minnesota there was a group
of fraudsters who allegedly stole potentially billions of dollars of state
funds. They happened to be of Somalian origin. As per our laws, they should be
tried and punished for their offenses. However, I do not understand (at the
risk of violating my rule of ‘seeking to understand’) why our president would
make extremely derogatory comments about the entire country of Somalia and its
citizens both in Somalia and in the United States who had nothing to do with
this incident.
I could give many more
examples, but I will stop here. It is shocking to see these things happening in
the United States of America. I continue to pray that we return to the
principles that made this a great country. 🙏🙏🙏
