What does it take to have the courage of your convictions?

Let’s say you believe something, or you belong to a group that is ostracized by society at large. For example, you might be gay, or engaged in open or plural marriage, or mentally ill, or you might be passing as a member of the larger society even though you aren’t.

If you pretend you are like everyone else, but you practice whatever it is that society doesn’t like, approve of, or is scared of in private, then I call that being in the closet. Most people don’t like being in the closet, but they stay there because it seems easier to be there and to hide than it is to come out and announce who you are, and suffer whatever emotional or physical violence the mainstream might throw your way.

People argue that if you come out of the closet, people will see how many of you there are and they will have a harder time saying that what you do is deviant or wrong or despicable. Then they might have more sympathy for you and your kind, and might make it easier for you to be accepted, as you are, in society.

Does the courage of your convictions mean leading the charge out of the closet? Does it mean something else? If so, how do you have the courage of your convictions? Can you, personally, demonstrate an incident in which you had the courage of your convictions?