Reason vs. Excuse

In my previous post, I said that technical difficulties were the reason for my lack of updates, but it did not excuse them. There is a significant difference between a reason and an excuse, one of the many lessons I learned from my father.

A reason is an explanation. It tells you what the cause is in a cause and effect relation. Reasons are facts, cold and simple.  "I didn't do my homework because I was too tired to stay awake" is a reason.

An excuse is a pardoning. It says that, although an undesirable thing happened, it does not deserve punishment or retribution of any kind.  "I didn't do my homework because my brother was sent to the hospital" is an excuse.

Excuses always have a tacit ending: "and that's more important."  I didn't make my bed because I was making breakfast for my family...and that's more important.

Because that ending is tacit, a reason and an excuse sound identical. And if nobody teaches us the difference, we don't realize that there is one.

The other difficulty is that excuses are judgement calls. It is up to the individual to decide what is more important. However, no matter how hard we try to justify our actions, some things you just can't defend that hard.

Shirking your duties to play games is inexcusable. Not writing because one method of writing is not available is inexcusable.

Before you try to excuse your actions (or lack thereof), take a step back and think about it. Are you giving a reason, or an excuse?