What's more fundamental to parental lessons as saying you're sorry?  We've all made mistakes that have affected others, and thusly apologies are to follow...but have we thought this through?

What is the purpose of this sentiment?  It's expressing regret, essentially, but it doesn't really say anything.  Regret?  That means nothing to the person who was on the other end of it, and doesn't explain why in the least.  It's a shortcut on something that should not have a shortcut.

If you're going to apologize, it's not a matter of words, it's a matter of expression and understanding.  How about, "What I did was a mistake for these reasons: x, y, and z and understand what harm has become of you.  What can I do to undo that harm?"

How about that?  Isn't that more useful and more helpful to the person you've harmed?  But no, we need a shortcut; we need to circumvent all accountability.

And it's lost all meaning anyway.  People say sorry for things that have no basis or something that they obviously don't regret.  I can recall being a child and not understanding the whole point of saying "sorry" other than embarrassment, but adults don't understand it, either, because there's nothing to understand--it means nothing.  It is nothing, give it up and do it right.