Beware: The shrinking sphere of influence

I caught myself doing something on Facebook that I wouldn’t dream of doing in the “real” world.

I was un-friending people from my list of friends. My list of friends is a pretty healthy mix of personal and professional relationships. Several friends are former co-workers in Dallas Texas. People I worked closely with. Smart, funny, engaging, interesting people who I considered myself lucky to have worked with and know.

So why was I in the process of shunning some of the very people I sought to re-connect with?

I’m a little embarrassed to say that It’s because they have different politics. What?
Differing political views is enough for me to cut ties with people I used to find so interesting? Wow. I never thought of myself as narrow minded. Again, why was I doing this?

Simple: I wasn’t practicing something that I’ve always told my kids is so important;

“Keep an open mind, Welcome people in to your life who challenge you. Be confident enough in your own ideals and beliefs that you allow them to be challenged.”

Is it possible that the bigger our on line Social Network becomes, the smaller our scope of influence also becomes?

I think I should stick to my own advice and keep an open mind. I know I’ll be a better person doing so.