Last night, President Obama addressed unemployment, gay rights in the military, stimulus troubles, chamber gridlocks, and healthcare reform. But the most influential thing he talked about? The portrayal of bipartisan arguments in the media.

Mr. Obama asked the American people to stop listening to sound bites from the media. But wait, Mr. President. I use social media platforms to communicate – in sound bites!

He has a point. There is more to any story than headlines. Today, we hear from our media and each other in one-sentence email updates, Facebook status updates, and Tweets. Regardless of the platform, this is the norm. Communicating in headlines won’t stop, but I urge you not to stop there.

Complex issues and history take more than 140 or 420 characters to understand. Don’t stop at one trending topic, one clever bumper sticker, one scripture verse, or one two-minute broadcast clip. Keep reading. Keep listening. Research. Pray. Discern.

It takes time, but the right things do.