Everything you did yesterday and last year is viewed as a guarantee of what you will do tomorrow and next year. But what if you are facing an upheaval? What if you’re getting divorced, or you left the Mormon church? What if you’re ashamed of a major upheaval? What if you lost your job and can’t find another one? Joe Clark.

Consistency is an overrated virtue. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to think that something I wrote 18 months ago reflects what I think about things now. Or something I wrote a week ago, perhaps.