Jim Wright: "So, in 2017, let us resolve to be the people we want to be."

I freely admit to having read many snippets of Jim Wright's writing over the years, while never really bothering to delve any deeper.

This may have been a mistake on my part. First, about the author.

Jim Wright is a retired US Navy Chief Warrant Officer and freelance writer. He lives in Alaska where he watches American politics in a perpetual state of amused disgust. He's been called the Tool of Satan, but he prefers to think of himself as the Devil's Designated Driver. He is the mind behind Stonekettle Station. You can email him at jim@stonekettle.com. You can follow him on Twitter @stonekettle, or you can join the boisterous bunch he hosts on Facebook at Facebook/Stonekettle. Remember to bring brownies and mind the white cat, he bites. Hard.

On Monday afternoon, Wright published these thoughts at Facebook, then later at his own blog. He summarizes the way I'm feeling about Our Lives in a Time of Trump, and so I'm teasing with his conclusion only. You simply must go to Wright's page and read the entire piece, which will be one of my personal touchstones as these thrilling months gather steam.

Resolutions, by Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station)

Author’s preface: This began as a post on Facebook. But the ideals outlined below apply to all of my social interactions, online and off. And because, a) not everybody who reads Stonekettle Station or follows me on Twitter subscribes to my Facebook page, and b) my Facebook page is subject to continuous attack by those who violently disagree with my viewpoint and my right to express such and therefor commenting is perforce limited to less than 5% of the people who follow me there, and because c) there is no such limitation here, I’m reposting this here on Stonekettle Station, expanded from the original Facebook post. // Jim

... We have to be the people we want to be – otherwise there is no point. And it's hard, being that person. No doubt. But the things in life most worthwhile usually are.

If you lay claim to the moral high ground, then you have to hold the moral high ground.

So, in 2017, let us resolve to be the people we want to be.

Let us stand together against the fall of night.

And let us always remember history is on our side if only we have the fortitude to see it through.