Part of the problem is that we have stretched the definition of "friend."

I have no problem un-friending people who aren't really friends at all but friends of friends, casual acquaintances and people I knew long ago who managed to find me on social media.

As for my real friends, I give them permission to have passionate and eccentric political, religious and social opinions, and they give me the same permission. That's because we care about each other as people, and our relationship is based on more than just what one of us posts at any given moment.

Don't get me wrong. I do believe there is something of value in online communities, as evidenced by the anxiety some posters on this site expressed about the switch from Disqus to Civil Comments (personally, I found it painless.) I just think it's important to keep things in perspective.

I won't walk away from a friend. But an obnoxious, distant bloviator on a website? In a heartbeat.