Excuses

We all make 'em. We know we shouldna hadna done it, but we can't let  ourselves be wrong, so we come up with 'em.
Excuses. Rationalizations. Whatever you want to call 'em. (My brother-in-law, who is a cop in Baltimore, won't tolerate 'em: "That's an explanation," he tells the driver who just ran a red light and is trying to talk his way out of it, "An explanation, not an excuse!") We may or may not believe what we are saying as the words come out of our mouths, but we have difficulty admitting we did something wrong. Or, more exactly, that we did something wrong and got caught! 
So we park in that handicapped spot because we'll only be a minute. Or we push our loaded grocery cart into the Express Lane (12 Items Only) because all the other check-out lanes are so long. On a more serious level, we get verbally, even physically abusive with someone because they just don't seem to want to listen. We leave our dog (worse, our child!) in a boiling hot car while we run in to the store for a few things.
Most of the time, if we stop and think, we realize that we should be more considerate, less rushed. But in our pressured society (and that pressure comes from ourselves), we never stop and have little time to think. Except in the aftermath, when we are able to be incredibly creative in reasons why we aren't to blame.
Yes, there are some who believe their own excuses. That's why they call 'em rationalizations, 'cause they're so, um, rational! But such are also those who go through life never accepting responsibility, never seeing the places where personal growth is necessary. 
For most of us, we need to use  those Three Little Words more often. Oh, not those; they're important, but I was talking about: I was wrong!