Newsweek magazine used to have a section called the conventional wisdom. Sometimes it compared one year’s conventional wisdom to the previous year’s conventional wisdom. It was interesting to see how different some attitudes were from year to year.

Maybe the magazine still has that section. I don’t know because I haven’t read Newsweek magazines for several years, and that is probably one of their problems—that more people than I have stopped reading them. But they were on to something. Conventional wisdom is often suspect, even wrong. Here are some of my favorites.

Double parking. People are always against double parking. Why? It provides so many benefits. It slows down the traffic on Newbury, Hanover and Charles streets, allowing pedestrians to jaywalk, which, we found out this summer from a David Brooks column in the New York Times, was safer than legally crossing a street. It allows a person to run in quickly and do an errand or buy a trinket or a cup of coffee, thus keeping our shops going in a bad economy. In most neighborhoods downtown we have few alleys for deliveries, so it allows shops to stock up. It’s illegal, but so what? Double parking makes our lives better.

Federal government. It’s hard to understand the antipathy toward the kind of government that my father—a long-time political junkie—always liked best. Local government was the most corrupt, he said, state government was the next most corrupt, and the feds were squeaky clean in comparison. After living long enough, I’ve learned he was right.

I’ve lived so long, in fact, that now the federal government sends me money each month for simply staying alive. The feds also help pay my doctors’ bills, keeping me healthy. I never thought much about social security when I was younger. It was just one of the deductions on my paycheck. Now it is remarkable.

A friend once told me that people like us—downtown Bostonians, who are mostly richer than average—shouldn’t get social security, and for a time I agreed.

But then my friends started getting social security. They are delighted. Some of my friends are not as rich as they might seem. That monthly check is critical for their living a modest, but happy life. They paid into the system, so they deserve it. If social security were restricted to those demonstrating sufficient need, there would be a stigma attached, much as there is for welfare. But there is no stigma. Some benefits are taxed, which evens out the fairness a bit. And, contrary to the beliefs of some alarmists, Social Security’s financials are fine until sometime 20 years from now, and I’m confident we’ll figure it out by then. It’s the one investment we all made that didn’t tank with economy.

And how about that bundle of federal stimulus money for expanding South Station? More space for trains is exactly what we need in the car-clogged and air-challenged northeast. The Federal Government? What’s not to love?

Winter. So many people are complaining about winter coming. I’d like to put in a good word for that season. It’s the time when you can get things done, since most people are not on vacation. If you’ve got kids, they’re back in school, and you are relieved from finding something for them to do every day.

If you live downtown, you probably don’t suffer from winter’s indignities—having to drive in slippery, low visibility conditions, or shoveling a long driveway or walkway.

There are tons of things to do in the city in winter. I know it’s cold and the sun tanks at 4 p.m., but that’s what coats and electricity are for, to keep you cozy and provide lighting for reading a good book.

I am biased since heat and humidity make me lose the will to live. But I’ve been in those parts of the world that enjoy sunlight and warmth for a good part of the year. Those places are pretty awful. Florida has bugs—big ones—and a lot of trash on its beaches. Arizona has scorpions and rattle snakes. Residents there must endure sweltering summertime heat that makes everyone stay indoors for the air conditioning. That’s no way to live.

It’s trite to complain about winter. We’re New Englanders. We can hack it.

Drapes. No one in the media must have bought curtains recently. They’re still criticizing Governor Patrick for buying drapes that cost $12,000. (He paid for them himself in the end.)

Have any of the critics been in the governor’s State House office? Those windows are tall, and there are four of them. It’s not as if he could have gone to Bed, Bath and Beyond and snatched up a couple of panels. The windows are so tall, you would need to hire someone to install them.

I thought he got a bargain.