In this weekly update, Dr. Valdes discusses the tremendous pain it has caused our prison system and how we need to think about prison reform. He talks on the immense strain it has caused to our prison system and how we need to think about prison reform.  Dr. Valdes posits what he believes we need to see as a country. 

Today Dr. Valdes talks about how Christians are doing during this time. Dr. Valdes wonders if when people meet or speak with a Christian do, they see fear or faith, do they find that we Christians have a separate peace. It does not mean that we are not careful and do foolish things.  So, the question becomes if we Christian are living in fear, or are we trusting God? The way I look at it is that if we believe God and HE is not real, we lost nothing and spend our time on this earth with greater peace and hope?  The questions become: are we praying our worry we are going to die?  And b. Are we praying and worrying about those less fortunate than us?

Today I want to talk about how Christians are doing during this time. Is it evident to those who see us that we have a separate peace?

a.     are we in fear, or are we trusting God? The way I look at it is that if we believe God and HE is not real, we lost nothing and spend our time on this earth with greater peace and hope?

b.    Are we praying our worry we are going to die?

c.    Are we praying and worrying about those less fortunate than us?

In this episode, Dr. Valdes brings his youngest daughter Isabela to the podcast to get her opinion on how the Coronavirus has impacted her life. She shares her unique perspective as a 12th grader at The Benjamin School in South Florida and how she and her peers have to focus on different goals other than the senior traditions everyone was used to having.  Isabela offers what she has missed but also tells the listeners what and who is getting her by.

Today Dr. Valdes talks about how Christians are doing during this time. Dr. Valdes wonders if when people meet or speak with a Christian do, they see fear or faith, do they find that we Christians have a separate peace. It does not mean that we are not careful and do foolish things.  So, the question becomes if we Christian are living in fear, or are we trusting God? The way I look at it is that if we believe God and HE is not real, we lost nothing and spend our time on this earth with greater peace and hope?  The questions become: are we praying our worry we are going to die?  And b. Are we praying and worrying about those less fortunate than us?

Today I want to talk about how Christians are doing during this time. Is it evident to those who see us that we have a separate peace?

a.     are we in fear, or are we trusting God? The way I look at it is that if we believe God and HE is not real, we lost nothing and spend our time on this earth with greater peace and hope?

b.    Are we praying our worry we are going to die?

c.    Are we praying and worrying about those less fortunate than us?

In this episode, Dr. Valdes brings his perspective to what he has been thinking about during the Coronavirus. Dr. Vales chooses to focus on the good he can see in the virus versus the horrors it has brought.  Dr. Valdes mentions what the president of El Salvador has done and talks about how sad it is that many billionaires and millionaires are only focused on the twenty or thirty percent of their worth they have lost when in reality, they are still billionaires. A vast majority of Americans are only thinking about how to feed their children and keep the roof over their heads.

The impact of layoffs goes ­beyond suicide, drug overdosing, and drinking, however. Overall, the death rate for an unemployed person is 63 percent higher than for someone with a job, according to findings in the journal Social Science & Medicine. Now do the math: Layoff-related deaths could far outnumber the 60,400 coronavirus deaths predicted by the University of Washington researchers. This comparison isn't meant to understate the horror of the coronavirus for those who get it and their families." But heavy-handed state edicts to close all "nonessential businesses" need to be reassessed in light of the predictable harm to the lives, livelihoods, and health of the uninfected."

Dr. Valdes explained how life will change in the way we do community; how technology will further influence our lives, and businesses will reinvent themselves.  Telemedicine is going to improve our health and the way we look at doctors. Where we used only to think that our military were the true patriots, a new segment of patriotism has arisen; nurses, doctors, healthcare providers, and first responders have joined the ranks. Church will be different; how we worship will be different; the government will never again be small, it will be a significant part of our lives. Dr. Valdes states that a positive aspect of this virus is that we are no longer democrats or republicans; no longer are we white, brown, or black, for once we are one, we are Americans, and we realize that our fates are intertwined with each other. He goes into the state of our prison system during this crisis.  

Many people live through some unique experiences that, in turn, have created the lenses through which we see things, the world, and experiences. For me, my lenses are a result of a dangerous hard life that included tortures, lengthy prison sentences, and forfeiture of millions of dollars.