C'mon Baby, Light My Fire

I like debates. I like watching the fire in someone's eyes when they are attempting to prove me wrong and convince me of something I don't agree with. Call me weird, but I love it when a really high-tension topic like abortion rights comes up in mixed company. I like to see people fired up and under pressure. It's interesting. Light a fire under people and see what boils.

For this reason, I love talking about politics. Politics have a few unique qualities that make for interesting conversation on the topic.

First off, politics at their roots are supposed to forge policy for the way constituents live their lives within the country's borders. Second, politics rarely have anything to do with our daily lives. Third, the people talking about politics usually have no understanding, influence, or say in the matter themselves. (don't kid yourself, voting doesn't matter in a republic and we don't live in a democracy) Fourth, it is one of those topics that can start a fight among the most "civilized" of people.

I miss China, but one thing that I happen not to miss is the complete apathy toward anything having to do with politics. The best Chinese friend I have became so because he liked to talk about politics. The reason this is weird is because, and I can't imagine why, but in broaching the topic with Chinese people, the answer is inevitably the same: politics are boring. I get that the propaganda machine made it that way, but it is still quite a divergence from my norm.