Can anyone really change course?

Repent is a word that needs broader usage. It means recognizing you are going the wrong way and turning around and going the other direction.

Our standard procedure when caught doing something wrong is to change direction publicly yet not admit to ourselves or to others that we were wrong.

Red flags for this behavior: "I can't recall" "Perhaps I was misunderstood" "That's not what I meant"

Both publicly and privately, it is bothersome.Neither my son nor my President can say "I was wrong" and mean it. I have trouble saying it and meaning it.

When was the last time I saw someone do it?

I think creating 2 lists of the repentant and unrepentant may be in order.