The words of the most diverse human being who ever lived on Earth are becoming as real as he warns us “not to fear the one who can harm the external, but fear him who can destroy the inner man.”

I can’t believe that with so many broken issues facing America today, and while most people are gasping for air as the economy is drowning us, many are more zoomed in on issues that aren’t the true problem today. Whether you are black or white, regardless of gender and language spoken: Some are even harming some of the efforts and sacrifices made by others, just to so that their unresearched and lacking substance story can be told or written.

It is time that we get back to reality and stop wishing for a better America, and start getting involved in the recovery process needed to make the change. Sure, we have disparities in our western part of the world, but please don’t view us as if we live in Wally World.

It is a paradox at times when we reference a race issue. One day, the cries for minorities rights are supported, then alongside comes the anger when success is accomplished. Some days, the arguments have substance as if written from the halls of scholars, while at times its substance reveals that it could have been written in a cheesy coffee house.

When the latter is portrayed, the following harm is done: 1) Lack of respect for those that paved the way for us today; 2) Luck becomes the trump card instead of truth and facts, and 3) one gets stuck in Wally World, which I refer to a world of make-believe.

However, when one expresses opinions with factual substance, whether the world agrees or not: 1) One then honors the MLK’s, the men and women represented by the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” and those that daily give so that we can have our freedom and safety. 2) When a person expresses well intended philosophical perspectives and does it with the mindset of all, then he/she becomes the mouthpiece of advocacy for all that face injustices. 3) Remember that all have come short and when one is stuck in his/her world, you become blind to reality.

We must be careful how we pedestalize a person or an event and try to fit his/her contributions to society as godlike or heroic. Too often we magnify the negative and diminish the minor positive contributions of many human beings. It’s like the old 45 records that had an “A” side and a “B” side; usually the artist’s hit was on the “A” side and for the most part one hardly listened to the “B” side.

Take a peek at a few paradoxes in America from the Latino lens: 1) Cinco de Mayo and the Alamo have similarities, yet more advertisement and hoopla is made for a Mexican accomplishment verses the American victory at the Alamo. 2) An outrageous amount of money is spent on trying to squelch people’s mother tongue, while requiring foreign language courses at our learning institutions. 3) Billions of dollars are being spent building sanctuaries with the people’s comfort in mind while we can’t secure our borders. 4) There seems to be a dislike for undocumented workers, yet exploitation of the poor and less fortunate continues to escalate. 5) It’s the American dollar that we reward them for doing the dirty jobs we don’t want to do. 6) Many want to make English the official language, yet spend billions of dollars in a spring break outside of the United States.

Regardless whether there be discrepancies, paradoxical contradictions in one’s philosophy, the crowning of heroes that may not merit crowning, or just plain lacking substance to one’s opinion: The bottom line is that truth always prevails. Perhaps we can learn from the history pages, which teach us the example of a city that was rebuilt because of the simple wisdom of a young man.

History tells us that Zorobabel was a leader of the Jewish people at the time of their return to their home after being in exile in Babylon. The scenario is about three young leaders that disputed over what was the strongest thing in the world. The thing that put Zorobabel apart from the other two was his conviction that the world can have everything, but if it does not possess the virtue of the truth, it then stands on sandy soil. But when the truth is at the forefront, even a city can be rebuilt.