When I first got stated on Facebook, one of my “friends” posted an incendiary political comment on my wall. In response, friends with opposing viewpoints took him on. Back and forth they went, telling each other in heated tones who was right. Others joined in. Soon, a full blown flame war was taking place.

It was great theater.

I let the two sides go at each other for while and I stayed out of it. No way was I going to get involved in that mess.

And then it really got ugly.

The original poster starting insulting people. Despite repeated requests by the majority to curtail the invective and stick to the issues, he continued his name calling. The more he was asked to tone things down, the worse he got. I had no choice but to remove him as a friend.

Even though this was an extreme situation, it reinforced the notion that discussing politics in public is not a good idea. Unless you are certain that everyone in “the room” is of a like mind, you’re just asking for trouble.

If you’re a professional or in business, your political views should not be posted on social media. Why risk alienating half of your friends and followers? Even when the discourse is civil, political postings provide an insight into your thoughts that can drive a wedge between people who might otherwise get along just fine.

I have political views. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel like posting my opinion about one thing or another, or re-posting what someone else has said.

I’d be nuts to do it.

So I bite my tongue. And save it for a private conversation.

It’s called being in business.

I have many friends on the other side of political aisle. We like each other. We do business together. We can talk about almost anything.  But not politics. We don’t go there.

In business, you can’t go there.