Conversations

Is there something wrong with me for being willing to talk about almost every subject imaginable?  Pretty much everything is interesting to me, and although I can't speak intelligently on very many things, I have fun trying.  I wouldn't be very fun to talk to regarding stuff I have no use for, like sports or manga cartoons.  But let me start on different foods, the history of Christmas, American politics, and different religions ... then I'll never stop.

There are some things I have trouble talking about.  For example, my husband loves to talk about the military, and when he does my head sort of gets a little fuzzy.  I keep telling him to start a blog so that he can share his thoughts with people other than me, while I try to listen, I really do try!  It's just that I am more interested in the old buildings that are smashed to pieces in a bomb raid and the lives of the townspeople who survive it than the make and model of the plane that dropped the bomb, or the formation of the bomber squad...  The same thing happens when I go on a rant about my plans for the house, how we're gonna dig a basement for my workshop, and raise the roof and install a loft, and erect a garage and a greenhouse... his eyes just sort of glaze over.

And then there are my most beloved favorites, the subjects of politics and religion, two things I will go on and on about, much to the discomfort of nearly everyone in the room, except for my immediate family members who either agree with my ideas, or love me despite our differences.  After all, it was my family who gave me this passion.  We are all history geeks.  My dad prefers to read the original works by our Founding Fathers rather than someone's modern day interpretation.  My mom is writing her third book on our family history.  I volunteered 6 summers of my childhood to a living history site.  The past just comes naturally, feels right, makes everything today make sense.

Politics and Religion are deeply rooted in history.  Human society has found the need to create and recreate doctrines and laws many times over.  Need I bring up the American Revolution, the Church overruling limbo for babies, or the Civil Rights Movement?  As individual circumstances change, many people find the need to change their position, hoping that others will follow and that circumstances will become better (or worse... ) for larger numbers of people.  I tried to warn you that I'm kinda long-winded about this stuff, but I'm just trying to say that today's beliefs descend from a combination of ancient thought and changes between then and now.

So, because beliefs evolve to take on what matters immediately, I am interested in striking up conversations.  Let's talk about everything!  I really think we should care about the thoughts of others, because those thoughts might need a little stoking before they become the next greatest ideas in human history.