This is a great piece, Markham. I don't think anyone has discussed it before you (at least in a popular forum). I think we need to structure our lives in ways that are consistent with our morals. But we must be aware that our effects are in fact trivial in the big picture. This allows for the needed flexibility in things like the cheese situation. It is when we deal with individual people that we need to marshall our strength and do what we think is right.

Overall, this is just another example of how modern life is too much for our brains, as many of your pieces have discussed.