Honorary Degrees

I was touched by a story I saw on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer this evening. The story was about how Oregon State University conferred 23 honorary degrees to Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during WWII. These students were never allowed to graduate from OSU. I know that some people think that apologizing for past behavior (discrimination, racism, slavery, etc.) is unwarranted. I think that these people don't realize that we cannot hide from the sins of our fathers. By expressing remorse, we let the victims of racism and hate know that they are not forgotten, that their pain and suffering has meaning.

You can listen to the MP3 podcast on the NewsHour's PBS site.