I learned early on in software maintenance that what we IT professionals considered “minor irritants” often bothered clients more than the ” important true issues” we were concerned with. That meaningless blinking red dot in the corner of a screen was _ to the user _ much more aggravating than the speed of the subroutines.
It’s human nature _ based on our primarily sensual grasp of the universe _ that it be so. An arthritic thumb or constant migraine may be “medically harmless,” but they seem much worse to patients than, for example, “truly” important things like high blood pressure.
And I suspect politics is in the same fix today. What is really important may get legislative or bureaucratic attention, well focused on important big problems. But the constant unimportant irritants trickle down to make everyone unhappy. Trying to control dangerous speeding motorists is a worthy goal, supported by almost everyone. But in application, tickets are often issued for trivial “violations” to make up quotas or increase revenue. And everyone ends up hating all traffic laws.
The only cure for this is to _ yes _ fix that blinking light first. All laws should mostly apply to egregious behavior. All laws should also be applied by “spirit” rather than “letter”.
But, alas, we are in a “rational” society. Only the dry letters of the law are used. The blinking light is never fixed. Everyone gets angry and more rigid.
Blink.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 