A Petty Problem

One would think that there existed a topic out there in the world which was so inconsequential that people would not even bother expending energy to come to a resolution over it--some disagreement whose subject just plain does not matter. If this were the case, then we could prioritize issues whose resolution makes real improvements to society. Unfortunately even the silliest distinctions seem to provoke heated discussion around them to justify one side and fault the other. The significance of the smallest sentiments is regularly inflated, even to the suggestion that normative ethics could be derived from the smallest issue. For example, elaborate sketches can be designed to denigrate entire generations over a distinction in just vernacular, as if during this two minutes, fifty-seven seconds one imagines that the only thing that mattered in the world was the inflection one used during conversation; and countless programming convention standards will tirelessly war over whether a curly brace ought to occupy its own line or not, as though its placement serves as a metric for programming competence. One wishes they were aloof enough to say "don't anybody trouble yourself over this, both sides are basically equivalent and that's fine!" I am left wondering which of my ongoing involvements are worthwhile, and which are compelling only for the drama afforded.