I think people wouldn't have wanted to work with me or listen to my opinions. I don't think the CEO would care, but down at my level, what the CEO thinks doesn't matter. It's all about peers and adjacent teams.

And I never voice any political opinions at work because I don't want to say anything my peers would perceive as "abhorrent".

>I think people wouldn't have wanted to work with me or listen to my opinions.

If I was your co-worker, I wouldn't want to know your non-work related opinions, especially your political opinions. That assumes we're not working on someone's political campaign.

Your opinions that don't relate to your job are irrelevant -- at work. And as such, why would anyone, whether they agree with you or not, want to hear you (or anyone else) pontificate about how you "Like Ike" and that his Vice President would make a much better President than that (gasp!) Catholic, rum-runner/gangster's son from Massachusetts.

Yes, I'm deliberately using examples from 65+ years ago. Because it doesn't matter what the content of those opinions are. Unless you work for the RNCC or the DNC, etc. those opinions have no value or meaning in the workplace.

I'm not afraid to express my opinions, but I choose not to do so while I'm actively on the job. That you do it out of fear is, on the one hand, unfortunate but, on the other hand, a good thing as no one really wants to hear them anyway.

Keep up the good work!

>And I never voice any political opinions at work because I don't want to say anything my peers would perceive as "abhorrent".

Good. I'm sure that, regardless of how you think your peers would perceive your opinions, they are much less interested in those opinions than they are about the quality and quantity of your work, your opinions of the work and work environment, and how you interact on a personal level with others.

Edit: Fixed typo.