To Share or Not to Share

This morning I was thinking about sharing.  Having a Twitter, Facebook and Instagram business/author accounts are new to me.  I have personal ones, but only really use Facebook, and I share cool animal videos, funny memes, pictures of my family, political stuff (which I try to keep to a minimum), and thoughts and observations without much thought of “is this a good idea?” But now with ‘business’ accounts, I am torn.  How much should I share?  I don’t want to isolate potential followers or readers with being too political, too ‘in your face’ about my personal views.  But, at the same time, I want those individuals to feel like they know something more about me than just ‘I write’.

I am a believer of free speech and of the saying “you have free speech but you aren’t free from the consequences of said speech”.  I also try to separate a celebrity’s personal views from what they do as a job.  And yes, being an actor, writer, news host, etc, are jobs.  They get paid for said job.  It’s not the end all-be all for them as people.  They have other hobbies, interests, causes that matter to them.  And having high paying, high profile jobs allows them to have a voice in the causes that matter to them.  I support that, even if I don’t support the cause.

The above statement brings me to this quandary–how much voice should I give to my personal views?  Do people really care?  And if voicing my personal views are that important to me, can I accept losing potential followers or worse, being called out for said views?

I was raised by parents that grew up in the South, one from Texas, one from Florida. My parents lived in Louisiana during the mid 70s, and witnessed racism and fought against it.  My mom showed dogs when I was a child and I was around gays at an early age and never had an issue nor did my parents. They just accepted them.  There was a couple that became close family friends of my parents, and when one was dying of AIDS, my mom refused to don the special gowns to see him.  She felt like it was an insult to him.  She hugged him and gave him a kiss out of love and kindness.  I had friends that came out in High School as gay, and some came out later in life.  Who they choose to love doesn’t matter to me.  I have friends from so many faiths, it would be a long list to type out.  I have had friends on every part of the political spectrum as well.  I have friends from so many different cultures, and I love it.

I was raised to not ‘tolerate’ people who are different, but to ACCEPT them.  I hate that word ‘tolerate’.  It means to ‘put up with’.  So, you vote different than I do, so what, just be an informed voter and VOTE.  So, you practice a different faith than I do, so what, just be a good person, take care of others, the planet and animals  Oh, you don’t believe in an Higher Being?  Cool, just be a good person, take care of others, the planet, and animals.

I may disagree with your views, but sure as Hell will defend your RIGHT to have them.  As long as you follow the Bill of Rights and are a good person (and the rest of that statement), I am cool with you.  I think some may misinterpret this, but I DON’T CARE.  This is what I mean:  How you vote, what you believe, who you love–doesn’t matter to me in the sense of not liking you.  I like YOU, not in spite of, or because of our differences.  I just like you and accept you.

But…if you are disrespectful to me and my right to free speech, disrespectful to others’ rights, then that’s when I have a problem.  If you have use meanness, hurtful language and calling others names just to make your point, then, Dude, back off.

So…I guess I did share my views after all.