Apology Hotline

I've been looking through the news online today and discovered that I'm in a mood where very little interests me. The news from Iraq has started to blend together and gets depressing, so I don't read it. I'm usually a bit entertained by the CNN section on Offbeat News.

This story talks about a unique twist on the Catholic confessionals that I haven't heard of before: an Apology Hotline. It was started by a 20-year-old college sophomore who thought it could give people an outlet for their guilt. People who call in to the hotline are directed to an answering machine where they can leave messages about things they're sorry for.

There is some disagreement over whether it's a healthy thing for people to express these sentiments anonymously to a hotline rather than addressing the person they should be apologizing to. Some experts say that it may deter people who actually need to seek help somewhere else from doing so. Others believe that it's a beneficial way for people to address their guilt and possibly feel more comfortable calling in to other centers, like suicide hotlines.

My best way of avoiding that is to live life in a way that I do little that I'd have to apologize for. How well I succeed is up for debate.