When comedian Jerry Seinfeld read the article, he immediately posted his rebuttal in the NY Times Opinion, Jerry Seinfeld: So, You Think NY is Dead.  In his rebuttal article, Seinfeld argues that Altucher is wrong, and that is ok to do in a civil world; what is not ok, is how Seinfeld went about his argument.  Seinfeld does not engage Altucher with facts, but instead, he begins a tirade of insults on Altucher, he writes: "The last thing we need in the thick of so many challenges is some putz on LinkedIn wailing and whimpering, "Everyone's gone! I want 2019 back!" Oh, shut up, imagine being in a real war with this guy by your side. " And he goes on with a tirade of further insults.

We live in a country where most citizens can not afford decent health care. Yet, our taxpayer dollars are spent to bankroll a corrupt criminal justice system that is not interested in rehabilitating anyone. Instead, their only mission is to warehouse men/women and children as inventory for massive corrupt schemes driven by greed and a lack of human empathy. Massive incarceration has devastated communities of color.

We can live our lives hating others, and I guarantee you it will never help you live a better life, nor will it ever change anything. We must stop; we must analyze the root of the problem. We can put many programs in place to help color communities be all that God has created them to be, IN HIS IMAGE. But if all we do is hate, it will never fix anything; it will only give those who hate us more reason to hate us.

I remember my father always telling me: son, in life, you will never make people who don't like you because of the color of your skin, like you. But, son, you make sure that you get an education, work as hard as you have to, and be a man of integrity. They might not like you, but they will have to respect you. He would stress, son an uneducated person is a controllable person. It would take many years before I could understand those words.

In this episode, Anthony, Dr. Valdes’ co-host, challenges Dr. Valdes to talk about morality and the decay of morality in America today and whether a society can survive in a world where there is no morality.  Dr. Valdes posits that he reads the bible as a book of philosophy and morals and how things that were right/ moral two thousand years ago are right and moral today.  How we have a double standard in so-called “Christians” that go to church on Sunday and are super holy at church, but at home, they are the complete opposite.  Dr. Valdes ends the episode on the high note that in the game of life, God will always win, and that great movements in history were often directed by one person who was crazy enough to believe they can change the world and did.  He believes God will raise someone who will usher in a new era of morality, not informed by society and Hollywood but informed by God.

Extramarital affairs are also a form of cheating.  Surveys reveal that a high number of married people cheat on their spouses, and many don’t feel bad about it or think it is wrong. In fact, one of the world’s top relationship experts is now saying that extramarital affairs (infidelity) can “result in good things.”  But this moral relativism clearly shows that the lowly mindset to endorse infidelity is simply trying to adapt to today’s culture, not taking into account timeless principles, emotional realities or spiritual laws.  Rather than saying “cheating on your spouse is wrong or immoral,” the message is “cheat if it makes you feel better.”  This is the “me first” mantra on steroids.  

For the next five years, I went through hell, but God never gave me more than I could handle, and then, one day, it all became alright. I walked out of prison at the age of forty, penniless and with a label that said convicted felon do not hire me. Yes, it looked dark and never-ending, but I was able to earn a master’s and a Ph.D. in biblical studies and marry. I found the most amazing, Godly women on earth, have six children and built a very wealthy company.  

As a young man, my worldview was formed by my involvement as a founding member of the group that became known as the Medellin Drug Cartel. This cartel was evil and did much harm to people and the country. But this was the world I entered at the age of twenty and existed at the age of thirty-one.