The legacy of Steem lives on in HIVE and I cannot be more pleased to call HIVE my new home. After-all, it was destined so.. being a Bee and all that..
That said, there is already an overwhelming number of posts describing the events that lead to this historic day and keeping up with it all has been like a full time WFH job. I can't imagine the amount of work and stress the 100+ people who came together to create this new home had to go through but I am very grateful never the less. Thank you to each and everyone for fighting the good fight and coming out of it (in my view) proud winners.
As noted by the likes of Larimer and Buterin, the birth of HIVE was indeed a watershed moment for blockchain governance. My view from the very moment Justin/TRON announced the acquisition of Steemit Inc. was that it would lead to a coup d'etat, and although my predictions at the time would not leave room for the eventual outcome being a new chain with a whole migration of a community with like-minded beliefs, I am glad we fought the good fight and came out with an outcome that in my eyes is truly a win-win. Those who carry the belief systems now sadly attached to STEEM can carry on there, while others who demand freedom of expression and decentralised governance can draw comfort in the HIVE.
With the split becoming a reality, I call on each and everyone of us to preserve all that we believed was good in our sibling now predecessor, and continue to champion decentralisation, and freedom of expression moving forwards. It is now up to us to make HIVE the way we want it, and finally unshackle ourselves from the tyrannical ruler that is Sun/TRON.
We may have won a moral battle here, but the real one lies ahead in convincing the world that we need not a ruler, instead rule that are decided by the people that reside in that community.
Champagne and ice cubes aside, we as a community of humanity are facing a real battle on the ground with the pandemic threatening the health and safety of each and everyone of us. Let the spirit of our ideology guide us towards rising above all the evils of the world. Even if they're invisible.
Crisis - a blessing in disguise
Although I haven't left the house for a week, I went to the island Kroger this morning at 8. They had replenished most of its stock, but are still out of paper and sanitising products, raw chicken, many soups and other canned foods. I snatched the last two of the ground beef, Jif peanut butter, Bob's mashed potatoes, hot chilli beans, and the lone chip dip, and Centennial IPA, all of which they were out of last week. About a sixth of the bread was restocked, and all of the produce appeared replenished.
Whether you believe in the danger of this contagion or not, one thing is real; the run on supplies and foodstuffs. If we see a major uptick in cases and deaths, the run will become a stampede. Permit me to suggest to get ahead of the herd.
I also want to mention how patient, kind, and conscientious both the patrons and employees were in the store today. In the back aisle in front of the meat shelves people were lined up (giving plenty of distance to the people ahead of them) as if not wanting to pass anyone to get to an aisle farther along. What voices there were were hushed but friendly and not sombre but serious as if everyone were intent on maintaining a stiff upper lip and a soft open-heartedness through it all.
There was no waiting at the checkout, but the lady who queued up behind me asked if it would be alright to nudge the last loaf of bread along onto the belt as my other items made their way toward the scanners. She said with a smile that she wanted to be sure because things are getting intense and some people might prefer that others don't touch their stuff. After assuring her that it was fine with me and thanking her for asking so nicely, I mentioned that it would be a very good thing if what comes out of this crisis is a heightened sense of conscientiousness and empathy for our fellow man.
As I pushed my grocery carts out to my vehicle, a line I read late last night in Albert Camus' novel The Plague came to mind: "What's true of the all the evils of the world is true of plague as well. It helps men to rise above themselves."
