About this word "reconciliation"

I've noticed that it gets tossed around GD-P from time to time. I'd like to share my thoughts about when it's helpful, ie., genuinely reconciling, and when it is not.

I checked various definitions of the word reconciliation. Did you know that it has close links with the Catholic practice of confession? True reconciliation requires admission of wrong, remorse over doing wrong, and a promise to do better in the future.

Sometimes I see reconciliation used here when conflict resolution appears to be what is really intended. The Wiki entry for reconciliation includes this:

Conflict resolution is the process of attempting to resolve a dispute or a conflict. Successful conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet the needs of all parties, and to adequately address interests so that each party is satisfied with the outcome...

Conflict itself has both positive and negative outcomes...

There is a debate in the field of conflict work as to whether or not all conflicts can be resolved, thus making the term conflict resolution one of contention...

I'd like to make the following observations:

1. Here in GD-P, there's been quite a bit of conflict recently over whether or not a particular candidate's words deserve criticism.

2. A few DUers have suggested that reconciliation is needed. Apparently this reconcilation is expected to take place between those of us who are outraged by the candidate's comments, and those among us who are outraged by our outrage.

3. Personally, I feel that this call for reconciliation is a bit of red herring. The question of most important here, in my opinion, is not whether or not all of DU agrees about the meaning of the candidate's comments. The more important question, to me, is - at what point do Americans stop tolerating outrageous comments, and, far worse, outrageous behavior, and start expressing our collective outrage?

For me, the candidate's comments came as a last straw. I'm not about to apologize for my outrage. I'm still unreconciled to the invasion and occupation of a non-hostile country on the basis of lies told to us by our government, an invasion and occupation enabled by many elected representatives of the Democratic Party. I'm still unreconciled to the torture of unlawfully arrested and detained people - including citizens of the United States, children, and women - torture that continues today because the Democratic Party has not seen fit to stop it. I could go on and on. The Patriot Act, the suspension of habeus corpus, the spying on Americans - the Constitution is being ripped to shreds. Where are the Democrats?

To have a Democratic candidate make a cheap reference to the murder of a Democratic candidate for president, in an effort to excuse her self-aggrandizing pursuit of power - it is just too much.

I will reconcile with fellow DUers if I hear genuine efforts to understand and appreciate my outrage, and genuine efforts to join with me to remedy some of the outrages being perpetrated by our government in our name.

Not before.

but you don't need to make that same effort to understand mine? You have no idea what reconcile means.