Writing

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 disagreement over a mostly minor issue, maybe it wasn’t worth shoring up.

My consolation is that I lost his friendship standing up for something in which I believe. I’d do it again. When you speak your mind, getting knocked down comes with the territory.

“You have enemies? Why it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud that thunders around everything that shines.” — Victor Hugo

Social discourse today is a minefield

The odd thing about the disagreement with my friend is that it started over something minor. We would have laughed it off a few years ago. I’m not going to talk about what it was because that would be distracting.

The point I’m trying to make is that in today’s political climate, it doesn’t take much to offend someone. Knowing this, we try to be respectful and reasonable in our arguments, but that isn’t always enough. Factual evidence has little impact when it runs contrary to a person’s firmly held beliefs.

My former friend has a big ego. When I countered his point with a more convincing one, it wounded his pride. He lashed out with a personal attack: the last resort of the loser in an argument. Then he severed our relationship. He can continue to believe what he believes without any interference from me. Good for him.

Here’s the takeaway

Writers are the voice of the time they inhabit. Unlike other voices, theirs will live on in pages and on the internet forever. If they speak powerfully and eloquently enough, they can impact the hearts and minds of others for generations.

So if you have something to say, say it. Be bold, because, if you don’t speak your mind, you’re wasting it. If someone doesn’t get you, don’t worry. There will always be others who do. If you speak out consistently and well, your audience will find you, and it will be a beautiful thing.

© 2020, Denise Shelton. All rights reserved.

If you liked this, please visit my website. You can sign up for my monthly newsletter here. Thanks for reading!