An excuse is a pretext.
The excuse is the act and result of excusing (that is, listing reasons or causes to get rid of possible guilt; freeing someone from an obligation or responsibility; or preventing something harmful from happening). The excuse, therefore, constitutes a pretext that is used to avoid obligations or excuse some omission.
To cite some examples of use: “The boy gave me a crazy excuse to justify that he had not done his homework , ” “I don't want any more excuses: keep what you promised or you'll get in trouble,” “It's not an excuse, I swear.” “I wanted to call you but my phone had no signal,” “Excuse me, sir, I didn't want to hurt you.”
The excuse to hide a motivation
This concept is also often used to symbolize a hidden motivation or one that is not considered valid: "The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 with the excuse of searching for the chemical weapons mentioned in its own intelligence reports. These weapons never appeared and there are those who maintain that the real reason for the invasion was the desire to keep the Asian country's oil .
Coups d'état , in this framework, are usually carried out with the excuse of removing from power an illegitimate government or one that violates the Constitution . However, these actions always hide other ideological, political or commercial motivations. The excuse, in this way, does not constitute a real motive, but rather masks another will.
The excuse can function as a justification.
About guilt
Excuses are something very personal, and it is necessary to clarify that in some cases whoever makes a mistake and tries to justify their actions, does so legitimately, since they really do not believe they have acted irresponsibly or carelessly. However, as with other issues, these stories are lost in a sea of others that are based on lies to evade one's own guilt . Human beings are experts in looking for explanations for our failures that turn us into victims; We forget that making mistakes is inherent to our species and that our mistakes are precious stones that we find along the way, since they allow us to grow and evolve.
Unfortunately, this attitude is cultivated in us from birth, through our parents. They make mistakes, like any human being, and it is healthy for a child to notice the mistakes of their elders, to understand from the beginning that perfection does not exist ; However, when he begins to witness excessive justification, a fear of making mistakes and an urgent need to hide any false step forms in his mind.
This is how we develop, learning to blame teachers for our low grades, the government for our lack of money, society for our vandalistic attitudes and, since no one can escape its responsibilities , our parents for any problem that we cannot assign. to no one else. Excuses are like a drug, and people who depend on them do not get what they are looking for, probably because they are not looking for what they really need or because they do not have a specific goal.
It is not pleasant to deal with those who justify everything instead of assuming their responsibilities , but it is necessary to understand that there is a root problem that drives them to shield themselves all the time and that this attitude arises from a lack of conformity with their own life. Those who consider that their actions do not represent a mistake do not feel the need to give explanations nor do they get irritated if someone demands them.
The excuse in law
The idea of excuse is also used in the field of law .
In this case, an excuse or exception is called a legal justification that the defendant presents with the purpose of nullifying the actions of the person presenting the claim (such as, for example, the payment of some obligation).