The pandemic news has been overshadowed by the national riots started by the murder of George Floyd and energized by the inequality that underlines American lives. This new series of posts are going to be difficult to read for many because it looks at America from the perspective that American values are about division. Many readers will simply walk away from the discussion because it is too painful to read and others will likely get angry.

It is not about attacking the American ideal, but rather it is about exposing the problem with the American ideal.

What Americans are witnessing today is not new nor is it worse than at other times. It is not about Donald Trump, although he is an extension of the underlining problem.

The problem is that America was not founded on the ideal of equality, rather it was founded on the idea that equality means equality for a certain group of people and not all people.

Until Americans understand this reality the riots and the fears among people of color will remain.

It is simple to believe that the police are out of control. It is simple to believe that Donald Trump divides America even more. It is simple to understand that America is divided.

These are simple truths – all are the reality.

Americans know this even if they choose to not believe it.

Americans even understand the underlining truth that America was founded to cater to a certain ethnic and economic group of people while marginalizing the rest.

But they choose to ignore this reality and instead focus on the ethnic divide as an issue of policing or a divisive president.

Why? Because it is easier to argue updating policing methods, or even doing away with the police forces than to argue we made a mistake when founding the country and we need to fix it.

The myth of the American ideal must be confronted and only then can Americans understand that police reforms and electing a new president will not be enough to fix America. The next three posts are going to be difficult for many to read but to fix America, these hidden (not so well hidden but ignored) truths must be discussed, accepted and fixed in order to fix America.

Only then, can America be fixed.

To be clear, America is not the only country that needs to be fixed nor it is the only country that has racism and inequality. All countries face the same problem, and all need their citizens to raise up to fix the underlining problem within each country.

But the United States is unique in that it has “all are equal” in its psyche and in its constitution and thus this lie must be challenged head on.

Martin Paredes

Martín Paredes is a Mexican immigrant who built his business on the U.S.-Mexican border. As an immigrant, Martín brings the perspective of someone who sees México as a native through the experience...