I just finished my second semester of communications classes. It just so happened that all of my classes were research oriented with focuses on mass media, which means I’ve been reading and writing a lot about the “mainstream” media.

One of the terms we used in classes was the idea of the “echo chamber” and it refers to the phenomenon that people tend to seek out, read, and listen to news that they already agree with. Living in an “echo chamber” is a fact of life and a simple quirk of human nature.

People tend to avoid what makes them sad, uncomfortable, or might expose them to ideas that cause cognitive dissonance. It's a valid coping mechanism.

Now, I have recently made the discovery that I am unusual in that I seek out opinions that disagree with my own. I am confident in what I believe, but I am unendingly curious about what other people believe and why they do so. As a result, I follow a startlingly wide variety of primary and secondary news sources--some extremely liberal as well as some that are shockingly conservative.

I didn’t realize that this was unusual until this past week.

I thought everyone did research and had founded their opinions after considering both sides of an argument. (So I'm naive, stop laughing.)

I didn't fully realize this until I was talking to a friend about @AlabedBana’s twitter account. For those of you who don’t know--this twitter account is a family in Aleppo, Syria live tweeting what’s going on. They post videos of bombings, pictures of rubbles, and clips of a 7-year-old girl, Bana, asking the world to stop the bombing so she can go to school.

It’s a heart wrenchingly graphic glimpse into what war truly is and who refugees truly are.

People that know me well know that I am a Christmas elf--I adore Christmas in all of its sparkling happiness. But this year I have been sobered by the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in, saddened by seeing the realities of war, and appalled by the hypocrisy of people who call themselves Christians towards refugees and migrants.

As I was explaining this to my friend, they asked that if following @AlabedBana made me so sad--why didn’t I unfollow her.

Forget that the twitter account is a rare primary source into Syria. Forget the pure journalistic value. Forget that it gives a glimpse into what modern urban warfare is like for civilians. Forget that an actual 7 year old girl and her family are posting videos begging to live.

They wanted me to unfollow that account because it made me sad.

And that, my friends, is the epitome of living in an “echo chamber”, and that is the extreme danger of living in an “echo chamber”--that a person would forego valuable first-hand information for the sake of their own mental comfort.

So my challenge to you this Christmas is this: we all live in an echo chamber of our own making: break out of yours. Even as hard as I try to get a balanced diet of news and opinions, I know I still tend towards a certain slant of opinion and certain sources of news.

So with careful deliberation, I encourage you to seek out an opinion you don’t agree with and learn more about it. Learn why you don’t agree with it and learn why people do agree with it.

In this season of celebrating the birth of a refugee child who was the Saviour of the world, take a moment to educate yourself. Yes, that might mean to read or watch something that will make you make you uncomfortable and force you to pray about things and your view of them.

But friends, it is much better to experience cognitive dissonance than to live in ignorance.

So college is going great, I’m learning a lot, I love you all, and I hope you’re all taking care of those homeless people and veterans you said were more of a priority than refugees.

Love you!

Merry Christmas.