Nigeria, Feb. 6 -- They are among the simplest constructions in the English language. A pronoun. A verb. An adjective. Three soft sounds that can be spoken in less than a second. Yet those three words are heavier than pride, more difficult than power, and rarer than they should ever be.

I am sorry.

Children are taught to say it almost as soon as they learn to speak. Say sorry when you break your sister's toy. Say sorry when you push someone in anger. Say sorry when you step on someone's foot. We demand it from toddlers. We insist on it in classrooms. We enforce it in playground disputes.

But somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose the courage to say it.

Somewhere along the climb toward power, influence, or status, apology ...