avatarJill Ebstein

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Abstract

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    </div><p id="a60f">What was my response that earned me the aforementioned congratulatory email?</p><blockquote id="41ea"><p>It’s her loss, and she is not worth the time. We need to embrace varying viewpoints.</p></blockquote><p id="e183">Until now, I have never written an article about a comment, but the story here is that many people agreed with what I wrote. This is the best news I’ve received on Medium in over a year.</p><p id="f3b4">Why?</p><ul><li>It means that we have a community of people who embrace a diversity of thought. It’s filed under the category called “thought expansion.”</li><li>I suspect some people in the Medium community are afraid to disagree with the leading writers on the platform. Some of those writers not only write well but also do what I refer to as “out-virtue-signaling” each other. But here we have a brave set of Medium writers who gave a shoutout for independent thought.</li></ul><p id="bd8f" type="7">An open mind is a precious thing to lose, and apparently, many are clinging tight to keeping theirs.</p><h2 id="1e23">Closing thought for the day that relates to how we carry ourselves</h2><p id="4c46">I am a big fan of UCLA basketball coach Johnny Wooden. He was a lea

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der on and off the court, and he said so many smart things. One of my favorite of Wooden’s quotes is as follows:</p><blockquote id="1510"><p>“<b>The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”</b></p></blockquote><p id="d87e">I fear that our passion for good can sometimes conspire against what we are hoping to achieve. Applying Wooden’s quote, those who resist using a megaphone to signal their values but instead choose to quietly and repeatedly do good things — often when no one is watching — are showing us true character.</p><p id="978f">No matter where we sit on the political and social spectrum, we are better off when we can lead with an open mind and no fanfare. Let our words be secondary to how we act.</p><p id="2b9c">And now I am off my soapbox.</p><div id="5f43" class="link-block"> <a href="https://jebstein.medium.com/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - Jill Ebstein</h2> <div><h3>Read every story from Jill Ebstein (and thousands of other writers on Medium). Your membership fee directly supports…</h3></div> <div><p>jebstein.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*FHIjYMFItTR5ercl)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Why Did My Comment Get So Many Fans?

A first time ever for me

Unsplash: Ainara Oto

I am always hopeful that I will get that wonderful email from Medium that says,

“Congrats. Your story has earned ten fans.”

I get to see photos of the fans and pat myself on the back. “Good job,” I think, and it is usually for a story that I worked hard to envision and then write.

So you can imagine my surprise when I got the above email from Medium about a comment I made on an article by Bebe Nicholson. Below is Bebe’s article, which concerned her being blocked by someone because, as Nicholson hypothesizes, Nicholson’s views weren’t sufficiently in line with the writer. Based on Nicholson's sharing of her comments, I suspect Bebe’s conclusion is correct, though it remains unconfirmed.

What was my response that earned me the aforementioned congratulatory email?

It’s her loss, and she is not worth the time. We need to embrace varying viewpoints.

Until now, I have never written an article about a comment, but the story here is that many people agreed with what I wrote. This is the best news I’ve received on Medium in over a year.

Why?

  • It means that we have a community of people who embrace a diversity of thought. It’s filed under the category called “thought expansion.”
  • I suspect some people in the Medium community are afraid to disagree with the leading writers on the platform. Some of those writers not only write well but also do what I refer to as “out-virtue-signaling” each other. But here we have a brave set of Medium writers who gave a shoutout for independent thought.

An open mind is a precious thing to lose, and apparently, many are clinging tight to keeping theirs.

Closing thought for the day that relates to how we carry ourselves

I am a big fan of UCLA basketball coach Johnny Wooden. He was a leader on and off the court, and he said so many smart things. One of my favorite of Wooden’s quotes is as follows:

“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

I fear that our passion for good can sometimes conspire against what we are hoping to achieve. Applying Wooden’s quote, those who resist using a megaphone to signal their values but instead choose to quietly and repeatedly do good things — often when no one is watching — are showing us true character.

No matter where we sit on the political and social spectrum, we are better off when we can lead with an open mind and no fanfare. Let our words be secondary to how we act.

And now I am off my soapbox.

Tolerance
Leadership
Writing
Personal
John Wooden
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