TOW #21 – “A painful apology to a kid at church” by Joshua Rogers

In his opinion article “A painful apology to a kid at church,” Joshua Rogers takes a firm stance that practicing apology, recognition of your mistakes, is essential to forming a healthy relationship. Developing a strong appeal to pathos, Rogers employs an anecdote to demonstrate how apologizing has been significant in his own life, as well as religious allusions to connect more closely with many people in his audience. Rogers is absolutely correct in his position – apologizing is fundamental in the development of young children, as it promotes healthy communication and acknowledges imperfections in a person. To write on behalf of this topic, Rogers explains a specific interaction he had with his daughter whilst attending his religious service on a Sunday. After requiring her to say hello to another girl going to religious school even though she did not wish to, Rogers recognized his wrongdoings and immediately talked to her outside of the classroom. In his emotional dialogue with his daughter, his complete honesty and vulnerability, Rogers demonstrated the receptiveness of young children to mistakes. Rogers later continued with another anecdote between him and his father: later in his life, his father finally apologized for his mistakes, individually. Rogers opens up the effect this had on his relationship with his own father – after many years, he was finally ready to trust him again. Evidently, via the use of these anecdotes, Rogers shows specific examples of the effect of apologizing on his life. Additionally, Rogers quotes the Bible: “’People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy’ (Proverbs 38:12)” (Rogers). Rogers is communicating his own religious beliefs to his audience, many who may be Christians, to strengthen his argument of the importance of apology. Apology is an action that defines honesty and communication in a relationship. This, Roger argues via anecdotes and religious allusions, is fundamental to forming meaningful, happy relationships.

Works Cited

Rogers, Joshua. “A Painful Apology to a Kid at Church.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 3 Mar. 2017, www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/03/painful-apology-to-kid-at-church.html. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.