This article was published in Bitcoin Magazine. “Main Problem”. click here To get an annual Bitcoin Magazine subscription.
Click here to download a PDF of this article.
Freedom is not granted. It is taken and defended. Our freedoms are being eroded on almost every front, but few are blinded by greed and lust and are fighting back. Most powerful people in our society lead us into darkness for more power and more money. The incentives are designed by huge, corrupt institutions and multibillion-dollar corporations focused on extracting as much money as possible from billions of digital slaves.
Tracked. It’s been manipulated. It’s been censored. sold. This is our reality.
Can you see it? Can you see where this is going? “Everything I do is tracked. “It’s a lost cause” is a common, disappointing and frustrating statement. Millions are seeing the problem, but most have given up hope.
How did we get here? Humans have relied on trust since the beginning of time. We created a family. We built a community. We built a business. We built new technologies. We built a government. Trust is how humans improve our standing in the world. Trust has always been essential, but remains fragile at scale. Systems that require trust are easily compromised. In modern times, this vulnerability is amplified by the scale of these systems, which are controlled by a powerful few with conflicting incentives with the millions of people who blindly trust and rely on them.
I was once a Twitter power user. It’s been my only social media presence for the past 10 years. It’s not without flaws, but it’s an incredibly powerful tool. It held the promise that billions of people would be able to communicate freely and build on each other’s thoughts and ideas. Then censorship expanded. Then the identification began. Refusal to comply effectively results in a shadow ban. Looking back, it was inevitable. Trust does not extend. The systems we rely on are too easily damaged.
The large, centralized institutions that govern so many aspects of our lives have collapsed. What worked in the past is not enough for the future. We can do better. We must do better. No one is coming to save us. We must save ourselves.
We have tools that empower individuals and minimize trust. Protocols like Bitcoin and Nostr, which are not controlled by any entity, allow us to communicate and interact freely without permission. Free technology is our hope, but real change requires millions of people to step up and take charge of our future. Say no to TikTok, Google, WeChat, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter/X and the countless digital slave companies that join them. Their incentive is to control you and they are winning. Instead, build, support, and leverage Freedom technology tools.
If not us, who? If not now, when?
We will not live in pods.
We won’t eat bugs.
We won’t get a blue check.
We will not be using CBDC.
Use Freedom Tech.
Live free or die.
– – Odell (https://primal.net/odell)
This article was published in Bitcoin Magazine. “Main Problem”. click here To get an annual Bitcoin Magazine subscription.
Click here to download a PDF of this article.