I don’t usually like to get involved in political rhetoric on social media, but I want to make a short statement for the record. There are some of my friends who are devastated by the recent political happenings. There are also some of my friends who are excited that President Trump is leaving office. Whether you agree personally or not, that is fine. That is your personal and constitutional right. We can all have our own political views; however, I want to make a note that that I think everyone should keep in mind. This election allowed us to “see behind the curtain” a technology that is taking over control of our lives in so many ways and is turning us against each other. We should all be alarmed no matter what your political ideals may be or what your opinions might be on different policies. When large technology companies can just turn off who they want us to hear or not, we should all be worried. Today it may be that you agree with them, but tomorrow it may be someone you want or even need to hear. We are losing our voice as Americans and that means losing our freedom. When that happens, we all suffer, and what we have grown accustomed to will never be the same. It is ok to disagree. It is ok to argue and debate, civilly. It is not ok to silence people who have different ideas. That should scare every one of us, so I ask you. Pray for our country. Pray for each other. Pray that we will remain open to the ideas and concerns of others around us. And by all means, speak up for the right of others to be heard, not silenced. We will go so much further if we can have open dialog and communication rather than to “tolerate” groups or companies or political parties or anyone silencing people for the sake of their own ideals or agendas. Tomorrow, it might be you or your idea. Now these are of course my personal opinions, but I think they are ideas that we need to consider. Let’s stand together and agree to disagree sometimes, as long as we are free to do so. Pope Francis said in The Joy of the Gospel, “Lastly, we cannot forget that evangelization is first and foremost about preaching the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ or who have always rejected him. Many of these are quietly seeking God, led by a yearning to see his face, even in countries of ancient Christian tradition. All of them have a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone.” We have to be able to proclaim the Good News! May God help us be free to profess it and more importantly to live it, as witnesses.