After having taken an active interest in politics, it has been hard for me to escape its tendency to permeate even the least controversial aspects of life. Politics often make people irritated, cynical and bored, which I think is a shame. Not to say that when thinking about the most complicated issues, I don’t feel the same way. Rather, politics are so pervasive and fundamental to even the simplest exchanges that to ignore them is to undercut your potential in a democratic society. The myriad of important issues is daunting, and it is surely impossible for anyone to tackle them all at once. That is why taking a political interest in your passion, no matter how obscure it may seem, can be so valuable.

Last January, websites across the Internet — in a show of cyber solidarity — “blacked out” in order to protest the House of Representatives’ Stop Online Piracy Act and its partner in the Senate, the Protect Intellectual Property Act. Despite their seemingly benign titles, detractors of the bills — such as Wikipedia, Craigslist and Google — maintained that SOPA and PIPA’s measures would do irreparable harm to their operating models and the Internet at large. The protesting sites were joined by a host of grassroots activists, who were infuriated, empowered and enormously effective. (SOPA and PIPA died shortly after the blackout.)

What laid at the heart of these bills? What destructive force was so egregious and exciting as to arouse the ire of a populist movement powerful enough to bring the Washington establishment to its knees? Put simply: copyright law, which is arguably one of the least interesting things to get passionate about. Yet it is of enormous relevance to one of the world’s fastest growing industries.

Although the January protest was a tremendous victory for opponents of SOPA and PIPA, its resonant effects go beyond one demonstration. The denizens of the Internet suddenly realized the distant world of Washington bore tremendous relevance to something they cared deeply about. They also realized that if they did not act to preserve the object of their affection, it would be adversely altered.

I started gaining interest in tech policy last January, which led to an internship at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, one of the key players advocating in Washington on behalf of the technology industry. It turned out that the CIA and its partners occupy a world of advocacy that existed long before the SOPA/PIPA blackouts; it was just waiting for its constituency to realize how important its relationship with elected officials really is. The massive outcry over SOPA and PIPA had far less to do with political interest than a basic desire to preserve something important.

There is turmoil, vitriol and absurdity when it comes to deliberations over key issues. This has the capacity to turn off even the most interested people, but apathy is not the solution to enacting change. Getting interested in politics can be about protecting the things you care about, and can be used as a tool for enormous positivity. Preventing powerful interests from disrupting the common good is the responsibility of civil society. It’s yours. So do something about it.

Benjamin Cannon is a sophomore government and politics major. He can be reached at benjycannon@gmail.com.