There are "not relevant to what you do" because most of the people you meet at work probably don't give a crap about anything else than the end of their (short) noses. It's common in people in general.
I actually tend to bring out issues like SOPA or NSA at work regularly, only to find them losing to topics like "what's your opinion on the last Game of Thrones episode".
Even in a situation a company could take a meaningful stand, the issue typically gets dismissed as "it doesn't affect the bottomline". And it sucks to be the only person around who cares, so at some point you just stop bringing issues up.
I actually tend to bring out issues like SOPA or NSA at work regularly, only to find them losing to topics like "what's your opinion on the last Game of Thrones episode".
Even in a situation a company could take a meaningful stand, the issue typically gets dismissed as "it doesn't affect the bottomline". And it sucks to be the only person around who cares, so at some point you just stop bringing issues up.