Hi, precious yidden! I'm sorry I didn't respond yesterday. I was around, but I was hit by a tsunami of emotional pain and I just couldn't think straight. Sturggle, I think you are very much on the mark!
As far as TrYiNg's question goes, I think be"H I can shed some more light on the matter. Our focus is up to us. If we choose to separate ourselves from Hashem and just try to get along with Him, then our focus on y"k is going to be about how WE make peace with Hashem. But that mehalech is hopeless for us, anyway (see "Teshuva" thread)
If we realize who we really are and what we really want, namely that our very essence is ratzon Hashem and there is nothing else, then our focus is going to be on THE BIG NEWS. We don't have time to think about our selves at such a holy time, we're much to busy being Mamlich Avinu Malkeinu!
But of course it goes without saying that when we come to such an event, we should be clean and immaculate. Not for our sake but for the Honor of Avinu Malkeinu!
Now here comes the biggest chiddush! As strange as it sounds, Hashem himself scrubs us clean and dresses us in proper attire. אמר ר' עקיבה אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מיטהרים ומי מטהר אתכם, אביכם שבשמים (We may sing it on Lag Ba'omer, but it's actually talking about Y'K) This is where the vidui comes in. We express our feelings and Hashem takes care of the actual work. All he asks from us is to turn our selves to Him! To give Him our hearts!
Some people that don't post on this forum, can possibly sleep through the whole thing. They will say the vidui with their mouths but their hearts are fast asleep. This is BTW not their fault at all and we should be dancing from simcha and gratitude that Hashem let's us feel, even in this sea of darkness! {Bli neder more on that in a different post later, Hashem PLEASE help me really do it}
So it can be helpful to remind them that the world is not static even if their hearts seem to be. Things get decided on these holy days and we can make a difference. It might help and shake them up a bit. That is the point of that kind of talk.
But in truth it all boils down to K'vod Shomayim. If we care about K'vod Shomayim, then we can't bare it when His children are suffering whether it's physical and all the more so, if it's spiritual. That's what the 44 bakoshos in Avinu Malkeinu mean to us. "Because You are our Father and our King ...."