We live in a political world. As global citizens, we can rise above petty disagreements. • Kansas Reflector

Let’s face it: The world is in turmoil, trauma, drama and despair.

I get up each morning to fix my coffee, and I pray. I pray to God for help in understanding people who don’t think like me, who look different from me and who might see the world in a different way.

I am distressed by so many people’s views. A friend of mine watches a certain news channel all day, and that is where her information comes from about the world. She doesn’t read a newspaper. She doesn’t have a degree in political science or history. She has an “us versus them” mentality. She is entitled, she is peeved and she is paranoid. In fact, I see a lot of people who are that way. I used to think I experienced paranoia until the current political climate. The persecution complex has reached a whole new level.

I unfriended someone on Facebook for one too many political posts. People seem to believe they can persuade their Facebook friends to think like them. They are bound and determined. I don’t think social media should be a place to try to tell people what and how to believe. Everyone has a free will. Everyone has different beliefs.

Growing up, I don’t remember my parents ever telling me what to think politically. My dad was a professor and taught political communication. He was interviewed on local news stations about political campaigns. He even was a speaker at a conference in Atlanta commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After my dad’s speech, Coretta Scott King went up to him and told him how much she appreciated what he had to say.

Hate is learned in families. Just look at the recent school shootings. Of course, mental illness also plays a huge role. Attorney and author Bryan Stevenson in Montgomery, Alabama, shows people a kinder way of looking at those who are different. Stevenson goes into jails and prisons and helps free people who are oppressed. He grew up going to church and singing hymns. The video “Chocolate Milkshake” with Bryan Stevenson on YouTube inspires me every time I watch it.

My younger sister, Laura, works at a national defense company and has about 100 people on her team. She has traveled the world to talk with people from other governments, and she is highly respected. I love visiting her and her special husband in their home because my friendship with my sister gives me peace. She is so patriotic and serves her country well. I am very proud of her.

We live in a global world. We are not just Kansas. We are not just one political party. We are not just male. We are not just Christian.

I have always had a heart for the hurting and oppressed, especially people who are from other countries or who are of different races or ethnicities. My faith is important to me, and it teaches me daily to embrace the world and to pray — to pray for healing, to pray for alleviation from poverty, to pray for hope. I would encourage others to do the same.

We can’t put on Wonder Woman armor or Superman capes and go rescue people. However, we each have our little corner of the world where we can make a difference. I hope we will go touch lives and not forget we are here to help others.

Rebecca Lyn Phillips is a published author, speaker and mental health advocate. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.