Recently, several writing acquaintances said they had grown
weary of political posts or statements on Facebook and other social media. They
really only wanted writing-related information or posts.
Years ago I thought about this issue. My first impulse was
to think that I should keep my opinions to myself as I didn’t want to offend
anyone and maybe dissuade them from trying out my books. However, I remembered
several articles that discussed social media for writers and they typically
said you use them to let readers know about you, not just to promote your
writing. In effect, you are promoting your writing by letting people see who
you are as a person most articles stated.
So my thinking expanded and I decided that includes not just
pictures of my cat or living room, but also my thoughts on issues. In much of
my writing I point out superficiality and stereotypes and how that can be
detrimental (or wrong). In other words, don’t judge a person on how he looks.
Well, one of the best ways to let people know about you
would be to let them know your beliefs on issues. That gives insight into the
way a person thinks and acts. So I decided to do just that. If I were to offend
someone and so they decided against buying one of my books, so be it. If I lose
a few cents, that’s better than not standing for what I believe.
Keep in mind that I don’t have a pure author page on
Facebook or Twitter, but do have individual book pages (Facebook). On those, I
leave issues out.
However, on my Twitter and personal Facebook page, well,
it’s no holds barred.
The more I thought about this topic though, the more I
believed that as a writer, I have an obligation to sound off. It’s a writer’s
responsibility to put ideas out there.
As a super hero, that would be a writer’s ability—to express ideas,
thoughts and concepts. Whether it is writing a fact-based news article about
murder by American police officers; or writing a book about
a man who fights for his ideals against Franco’s fascists (Hemingway); writers
put out ideas about important issues.
Many times when talking to students I advised at The University of Texas, I’d warn them about getting their degrees. Warn them that
they now faced danger because they were the types that dictators and
authoritarian rulers feared and hated. I said intellectuals (and that includes
writers) were the first up against a wall when those miscreants took over.
That’s why we see people like Donald Trump rant and rail
about news reporters who dare to say something he doesn’t approve of that day.
Worse, we see journalists in Putin’s Russia assassinated on the street, or a writer sliced and diced by MBS of Saudi Arabia.
Some writers become leaders of nations (Vaclav Havel, Czechoslovakia) others formed resistance movements, such as the
White Rose who used writing against the Nazis.
This latter group didn’t get put up against the wall—they had their
heads chopped off. So, as I mentioned,
standing up for your beliefs can be dangerous.
But you should.
Whether it’s writing pamphlets advocating for the American
independence from Britain or writing for a student paper against the Vietnam
war, writers through history have always stood up for what they believed in, for
their morals, their ideals.
So the next time you hear another writer complain about your anti-Trump posts on Facebook, just tell him/her that you are following in the
footsteps of other great writers through history. Tell that person it’s time for him/her to step
up and do the same.
James Thurber didn't mind sounding off
