No Regrets.

Knowing what you know now,  if you could go back and do it all over again, what would you do differently? It's a question talk show hosts are fond of asking and the standard response is always something along the lines of a reflexive "I have no regrets. I wouldn't change a thing."

I suppose this is either a flippant way of saying that they are perfectly content with the way their lives turned out or it's their subconscious retreating from the intricate maze of profound implications. In either case, the standard response drives me nuts. It's not a shallow question.

I really can't imagine someone who would go back, knowing what they know now, and not change a single thing. Someone who seriously doesn't think they should have been a little more kind, helpful or thoughtful at various points in their life hasn't learned a damn thing over its course. It's a ridiculous thing to say if you give it even a scrap of pensive consideration.

If given the opportunity, who wouldn't right the wrongs they've committed? If given the chance, who wouldn't be a little more circumspect when confronted with opportunities to indulge their excesses? Are we to believe these people have never made a mistake or  done anything wrong in their entire lives that they wish they could take back?

Sure, lives would turn out differently and possibly for the worse, but is that a reasonable excuse for retrospectively not doing the honorable things even if it's just hypothetically? If you think about this even a little bit it's plain to see the "No Regrets" position is absurdly self-indulgent.