Hard to apologize

Why it is hard to apologize? This is the question that needs a discussion, maybe it is because of an individual ego, wrongly held assertions regarding who is right, maybe it is because the guilty party thinks that it can do without one. Whatever the reason, nobody wants to take the initiative and be the bigger person (or whatever) and apologize and get on with their daily activities. There are many cases where you can say that apologies was the order so that we can go to bigger things but it has never been that easy. The U.S. attack on a check post near the Afghan-Pakistan border where the U.S. took a long time to apologize even though it could have done and saved a lot of money in the process (since the Pakistani Side closed the border to NATO supplies). The Japanese Atrocities in China and Korea during World War II which the Japanese are reluctant to acknowledge due to some strong nationalist pressure or maybe the Japanese think that it never happened and why should they apologize. The casualties in Armenia at the turn of the century (whoever was the culprit), the apologies of crimes by Pakistan to the Bangladesh in their war of Independence in 1971 and I can keep on going should have been apologized and done with and moved on. In personal life, it is hard to apologize for something you have done since it means you are the guilty party not the bigger person. These kinds of ego trips and "I or We are right" mentality hamper the growth of nations/people and it keeps on lingering for generations to come. So if I am wrong or even right (in some cases) I would rather apologize and move on then to keep that bad blood till I die. (Full Disclosure: Please note that the above references to historic events are all over the internet and I have just mentioned them as references, I was not born or witnessed any of them, my opinion is just based upon the logic behind not apologizing)