Just what is a decade? Who knew that was a complicated question?

One of the most humbling parts of writing for a news organization every day is the never ending stream of people willing — nay, eager — to tell you exactly what you got wrong. We even make it easier by encouraging such feedback in comment sections and social media feeds. The days when someone had to wait for the mailman to bring word of one’s foibles is long past, but hey, plenty of less tech-savvy readers still make use of that method, too.

Just because I write opinion doesn’t protect me from this. I still use facts, after all, which means people want to fact-check me, which I welcome, and I am mortified every time I make a mistake. Get to the meat of the commentary, and there are even more people to disagree on points large and small.

Opinion, after all, invites challenge. By nature, it picks a lane. My lane is usually the middle, which means I run the risk of annoying the people to both my left and right.

In a recent column, I compared the unfolding impeachment drama to the latest Star Wars epic, calling each a “massive story years in the making that closes out the decade.” Responses didn’t surprise me. Quibbling over when the decade ends did.

I will accept that the U.S. Naval Observatory and the Farmers’ Almanac have opinions on this, seeing the last day of a decade (or century or millennium) ending with the last millisecond of a day that ends in 0, not 9. In this case, they see the 2010s as ending not with the ball drop this New Year’s Eve, but a year from now.

That’s good for science and all. But I’m a word person, and the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition of a decade is simply a period of 10 years. Nothing in stone about beginning or ending dates.

Most people who aren’t setting international clocks or timing when the sun comes up seem to agree with me. The NFL has announced its All-Decade team for the 2010s. Billboard came out with a list of 100 music moments that defined the decade. NPR declared the 2010s to belong to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Those choices may all be up for debate, but the fact that they cover a 10-year span and therefore meet the outline of someone’s idea of a decade isn’t.

Wouldn’t it be great if that simple idea was something we could all just agree on as a starting point and go from there? Does everything have to start with finding fault instead of common ground? For the past 10 years — give or take — it seems like that’s the case.

Could I be wrong? Absolutely. But if I am, I’m confident someone will let me know.

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