Politics, Help...

Back in America, unless you are a die hard politics person, people are sick of the election talk as it has simply dragged on forever and ever.  Plus, I've noticed that people tend to not talk politics in the states unless it is among close friends as it often creates very precarious and difficult situations. 

Yet in Asia, the notion of being "politically correct" does not really seem to exit.  The folks here are utterly fascinated with the U.S. presidential elections and makes me think they follow it way closer than the average America (which is kind of sad).  And they are intently fascinated on what you think about it as well, which is pretty crazy, if you ask me.

The other thing that I've had a tough time adjusting to is "the help."  Everyone under the sun has help here as I think labor is cheap.  And I'd say there's a fair number of folks that just don't treat "the help" very well.  Maybe it is my American upbringing, and the entire notion of self reliance and all that protestant stuff has instilled a notion of doing things for yourself but I feel REALLY bad for the help and the conditions and stuff that they have to do... especially when people don't treat them with respect.  In my mind, they are just as much as person as you and me - hence why should they be subjugated to these conditions just because they had some bad luck and weren't born into a good family situation??  I guess this all goes back to the notion of social inequality, which I guess I still have difficulty with... that everyone should be given the chance to work hard and have a good life.  Maybe I'm too idealistic...

And lastly, doing business in Asia is definitely different because the business environment is different.  Contracts aren't really enforceable and the notion of "ethics" is a little different - I get the sense they look at things differently...

This is boring, so I'm ending it here... random ramblings!