(Not) sorry, Charlie

A couple of weeks ago, oil giant Chevron was deemed liable for rainforest pollution in the South American country of Ecuador. The finding was handed down by a local judge, who is holding the company responsible for $8.6 billion in damages and an additional 10 percent reparation fee. The most interesting part of this story? The judge gave Chevron just over two weeks to issue a formal apology for the pollution, at which point the amount the company owed would double.

As shocking as such a ruling is, it really should come as no surprise. We are a world that loves our apologies, especially when they are big, juicy and made in front of the entire congregation. It hasn’t been long since Tiger Woods was up there, saying sorry to the world for something that should have stayed between him and his family. And for a few days earlier this week, it looked as though actor Charlie Sheen might have been next in line.

Sheen, whose smash hit television series “Two and a Half Men” was cancelled for the rest of the season after he publicly insulted creator Chuck Lorre, agreed to give an interview to ABC’s Andrea Canning earlier this week. Canning spent much of the segment searching for explanations and apologies, but to no avail; Sheen stonewalled her every chance that he got, opting instead to espouse his own views on right and wrong, and on his life and career in general.

Sheen has largely been denigrated in recent weeks for his fondness of hard drugs and porn stars, and some have said that he exhibits signs of manic behavior in the interview. “I’m not bipolar,” he clarifies at one point, “I’m bi-winning. I win here and I win there.” He then goes on to add that he routinely receives phone calls from a number of A-list celebrities, which he cites as evidence of a successful career. He affirms the existence of his violent side, but only validates it within the context of protecting his family. And, when asked how anyone can possibly believe that he is finally drug-free, Sheen shows himself at his most candid, not to mention his most accessible. “I’m not interested in what people believe,” he says. “I’m interested in what I believe.” In fact, most of what Sheen expresses is directly in line with what we tell children: Work hard, love your family and try not to care too much about what other people think.

But Sheen’s most relevant argument comes when he reaches the topic of his career, where many might consider him to be at his most arrogant. “I won Best Picture at 20,” he told NBC’s Jeff Rossen, in reference to “Platoon.” (1986). “I wasn’t even trying. I wasn’t even warm.” He also advises potential employers, as well as his critics, to check out his IMDB page, which sports a list of over 60 film and television appearances. Although Sheen comes off as somewhat of a showboat here, his message is, as always, somewhere beneath his delivery. He is telling us that we should not judge a career based on anything but the career itself.

There are those who say that that’s not true, and that our social lives will reflect our work efforts and performance. Well, that may or may not be the case, but it’s also true that Charlie Sheen isn’t the only one who’d like to have his cake and eat it, too. Why is it that so many students make changes to their last names on Facebook once internship season rolls around? Wouldn’t it be sufficient just to stop partying altogether, or at least to stop posting pictures of it?

The answer, of course, is no because that’s not the point. The point is that when it comes to work, many of us believe that we should be evaluated on the basis of our body of work alone, which is exactly what Sheen is saying.

Sure, Charlie Sheen’s highly publicized behavior is unacceptable by society’s standard, and it’s probably unbecoming of someone in the position of father of five. But what many people fail to realize is that the views that drive his actions are not so different from ours. They are predicated on a love of family, a passion for work and an accountability of self that would be almost admirable, were they not so out of left field. Still, it’s always best to live and let live, and we can be glad that somebody finally said it: Sorry, but I’m not sorry.