(1) Imagine that the newspaper that arrives on your doorstep each morning tells a different story than the one your neighbors got. Imagine you and each of your neighbors receive personalized news with a completely different focus, agenda, and angle.

(2) Fortunately, the paper that arrives at your home is in complete agreement with you. It's tailored to mirror the minutiae of your every thought, because the people who write your version know you really well.

(3) If you peaked inside the houses on your street, each neighbor would be sipping their morning coffee as they read the paper, nodding their head, thinking, "I completely agree. I can’t fathom how any decent person would think otherwise."

(4) Their minds quickly become oversaturated with their our own opinions which they hold as objective truths. Each person's warped perspective leaves them misinformed and extremely fragile to opposing viewpoints.

(5) That disturbing situation is not a hypothetical, but the present reality of social media and the internet. Our preferences are stored by algorithms that affirm our opinions in order to win over our time, energy, & attention. We end up with some dopamine hits & a god complex.

(6) We would be concerned if our physical newspapers were completely different, but we expect nothing less of our phones. To combat this, I’ve started seeking out a thorough understanding of perspectives that I don't fully understand or agree with.

(7) Sitting with the discomfort of disagreement requires a great deal humility, and it’s a process for sure. As Saint Francis prayed, May I seek to understand more than I seek to be understood.