President Joe Biden has for the first time publicly apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make battlefield gains.
That's literally the point: he can't. His apology is useless.
The point of an apology is to acknowledge a mistake and signal that you will attempt to change your behaviour to prevent or avoid that mistake in the future.
A really good apology will also identify the steps that will be taken to avoid the mistake going forward.
I argue that if you don't or can't make an attempt to change your behaviour, your apology has no meaning. That is, the apology is not sincere and therefore not useful.
I'm really sorry that you're such a moron, I'd like to formally apologize to everyone in this thread who has seen your words and walked away just that much stupider.
You can apologize for something you can't change. I apologize for people all the time, despite knowing I can't change them. And that's how this apology was. "We failed you because some of us are knuckle-dragging morons. I know this apology won't fix anything, but know that we're trying despite the fools trying to hold us back."
You are still acting like there's some change that Biden could make fix this. He can't. This is a diplomatic apology, not a personal one. He's saying "I'm sorry, this is the best America can do." That's an apology, whether you think it is or not. If it wasn't, then countries would rarely ever apologize for things they can't fix.
You're also assuming that Zelenskyy doesn't understand this, or would be insulted by this. You call it "useless". As the leader of another democratic nation, Zelenskyy understands it very well and most likely receives it in the way it was intended.
Your comment is just wrong, and I expect an apology illustrating how you will change your ways.
Disagree, you can’t be mad at someone for trying their best and failing.
I would say an apology isn’t even necessary there, but if someone told me they tried their best and failed and apologized, I would accept it while letting them know it was unnecessary.
If a surgeon apologized for being unable to save your loved one, is that any less authentic?