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What Is the Price of Speaking Your Mind and Why Is It Worth It?
Take a stand and get ready to ruffle some feathers
Well, it finally happened. Somebody unfriended me on Facebook because of an opinion piece I wrote. Taking a stand on an issue takes courage. It also requires the ability to take in on the chin when your opinion rubs somebody the wrong way. You might lose followers, friends, or even family members. Do it anyway.
If you keep silent, if you allow lies and disinformation to go unchecked, you miss the opportunity to enlighten someone. For every person who is offended by your views, others will benefit from hearing them. That’s why it’s worth it to speak up when something inspires you to do so.
Friendships can be fragile
My friendship with the guy who unfriended me on Facebook was a long one. We were friends outside of social media, and I’m going to miss him. I valued our relationship and benefited from his advice.
My former friend is a stand-up guy. He strives to do the right thing. In this case, he believes the right thing is to cut me out of his life. That hurts, but not as much as you might think. I discovered that our friendship wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. If it couldn’t weather a…
