To my future children:

I am a man of sorrows. Not because I did nothing, but because I did not do enough.
I am sorry I did not fight more fervently for education.

I am sorry I placed misguided value on passing pleasures.

I am sorry I did not question more.

I am sorry I did not better maintain the earth for your coming.
I am sorry I procrastinated addressing the most important issues

I am sorry I distracted myself with trivialities.
I am sorry I watched the ravaging of people and places through the lens of normalcy.
I am sorry I was so wasteful.

I am sorry I was so brash.

I am sorry I did not think to the future.
I am sorry I did not prioritize the needs of others over my own.
I am sorry I waited so long to stand up for something.

I am sorry I participated in the pursuit of short term gain.

I am sorry I excoriated exploration for capital.

I am sorry I allowed others to be silenced and did not speak.

I am sorry I did not stand up for those who could no longer stand on their own.

I am sorry I let the rhetoric of politicians and private causes persuade me.

I am sorry I did not campaign for correct conditions.

I am sorry I allowed my curiosity to wane.

I am sorry I took human progress for granted.

I am sorry I allowed ignorance to lull me into complacency.
I am sorry I assumed our invulnerability.

I am sorry I was not embittered by bureaucracy.

I am sorry I fell prey to the comforts of tradition.

I am sorry I allowed the status to remain “quo.”

I am sorry I did not do battle for betterment.

I am sorry I allowed morality to be appropriated by unworthy suitors.
I am sorry I did not sacrifice more to insure your future.

I am sorry this apology need be made at all.

I am sorry I was blind.

I am sorry I saw too late.

I am sorry.