Josh Spokesgay and I share an attachment to the subjunctive. This attachment is, I believe, more than merely aesthetic. There are reasons to use it, and to prefer that its use be available.
See what I did there?
It’s true that the basic meaning is usually clear enough even without it, but it’s also true that a nuance is lost.
The indicative is for talking about things as they are. The subjunctive is for talking about things that are not, but that might have been, or that we wish had been, or were.
This neatly clarifies for me why I’m so attached to the mood. There are so many things I wish were not as they are, but otherwise.
Wraps, for instance. I wish wraps didn’t have a whole superfluous layer of clothy damp tortilla between me and the filling; I wish wraps had one layer of wrap instead of two or three.
But wraps are only the beginning.