When I launched The Syncopated Times this past February, I made it my policy never to apologize to readers for anything except publishing information that was obviously incorrect. I have done that a few times when things got past me in my haste to get the paper to press. Being credible and accurate is more important to me than my own ego. An astigmatic editor always has plenty to feel humble about.
My rationale is just this: it is my intention never to have to say “I’m sorry” for some fool thing I shouldn’t have written. Somebody (not Oscar Wilde, as it turns out) once said, “A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone’s feelings unintentionally.” Not that I have any valid claim to that exalted status, but I aspire to blurt less and to consider the sensibilities of others when I must comment.
Outside the realm of verifiable data, when I ramble in the convoluted garden of subjectivity, I take special care not to gratuitously offend others while still saying pretty much exactly what I mean. It's a neat trick I learned over years of earning my Persona Non Grata degree while writing scurrilous and insensitive letters to the local daily. There are people who still hate me for things I said fifteen years ago.
Since I have no desire to similarly alienate subscribers and advertisers to The Syncopated Times, I persevere to offer my thoughts in terms that I won't be forced
