Oh boy did I open a can of worms!! Where will I go with this one? Collectivism, group think, hive mentality, Anarchy, Steem. Yeah, that's a good start. I was planning on writing this post once I was clearly established (more followers) in the community but I read something today that stopped me in my tracks. I am writing this to be confrontational to the point of waking a few folks up to a potential train wreck from happening. I also have a free mind and I'll be damned if I am going to let it sit there and collect dust.
Anarchy doesn't have to be feared
Anarchy is an interesting concept. Most people think anarchy means - without rules. The truth is Anarchy is not the lack of rules, only that no other man or woman should be given more rights than anyone else. Let us walk out of Plato's cave, into the bright beautiful sun and learn that laws and rules are not equal. Anarchists can create businesses with rules. Laws can not exist in an Anarchist society only because there is no Government to carry out acts of violence against others. You might be asking about destruction of persons or property in Anarchy. This post is discussing the use of Government coercion in non-violent circumstances and the transition between our current world and the new world (no, not the NWO). Everything else will be discussed in future posts. Don't worry, there are answers for malicious intent in an Anarchist society. Lock-n-load! Kidding!
Government is the answer!
Pedophiles, narcissists and Satanists run our Government. (Probably a gross understatement.) What is the answer? More laws? More law makers? Do I really need to paint a picture of how more Government and laws have NOT made our lives any better? If you don't understand that, please go look at the Government laws and IRS tax laws in 1900 versus today and let me know what the difference is. Take a look at Chicago's murder rate, tough gun laws and the mass population exodus out of Illinois. Laws create law breakers.
Good Ol' Days
Remember the stories of our grandparents and how life didn't seem as dangerous - walking to school, biking around town? Baby boomers were successful because of the lack of business laws. Today, no one would be able to create a competitor to the iPhone without at least three Government agencies raining on your parade. I'll continue... Prohibition created bootlegging. The war on drugs promoted drugs. Venezuela legal tender laws created a currency black market. A LARGE part of societal breakdown is directly contributed to Government.
What does anarchy have to do with Steem, @Haejin, @BernieSanders, @RANCHORELAXO, @RandomWhale ? It starts with one of the core beliefs that crypto-enthusiasts have countlessly drilled into the heads of the early crypto-currency adopters. 'Take down Government', 'Governments can't stop us', 'Cryptos will free humanity'. I did NOT and still do NOT believe cryptos will ever free humanity. Why? The old world mentality and the remnants of duality. How does humanity evolve and become less destructive and more harmonious? Adopt a new form of currency? New technology? Not even close. It starts by individually shedding the unconscious greed, understanding that you will remain a slave of the Government until you resign your part. Basically, education and true historical education, specifically. We must stop using Government to inflict critical damage on our opponents. A disagreement of a chess game shouldn't be followed by crying to your mother, turning over the board and making a mess of the pieces.
Before we get to the core Steem problem with the players mentioned in this post, let us delve into an article that really disappointed me.
Excerpt of this ill intended post...
In my reports I gave them everything I had including the exchanges Hgin uses, his personal details, the 360,000 USD he has moved in crypto and not paid tax on (in this I clearly stated I suspected), his website, (I have also reported his website to the Korean Consumer Protection Agency for fraudulent practices as well, though they don't really enforce much, they give great advice) and of course his Steemit account as it is a store of wealth of sorts and used to generate revenue. Though he is cautious with this and how he uses it.
I read the article by @Iknowwhoyouare, demanding @Haejin stop 'raping' the pool rewards. Technically, the term "rape" was not used in the above referenced article, but I have seen the term thrown around loosely in terms of Haejin. Is 'rape' an accurate depiction? Let's see... @Haejin posts content, 20k+ users and himself upvote his content, @Haejin takes the reward and trades the coins on an open market. The market created Steem, the rules were voted on, a user is utilizing Steem to their advantage and a few of the users are upset because this person is taking too much money? Is that 'rape' or is he playing within the rules? Do the people hate Haejin or are they projecting their dislike for the way Steem runs? Is Haejin breaking the rules or is he breaking the community's ideology of how the system 'should' be played? Are you upset that rich and large corporations exploit tax loopholes to avoid paying taxes, or are you mad at an unfair system?
I want you to watch a short movie. If you watch anything today this movie should be it as it changed my life for the better. It's not very long (18 min). I do not want to give anyone a synopsis because some things you must experience to understand.
The Lottery
I watched this movie my Sophomore year in high school. I didn't completely understand it at the time but today it's probably one of the scariest movies I have ever watched. Did you notice that the woman cheered her husband, early on, laughing and enjoying the lottery? After she was selected what did she say? "It wasn't fair. They didn't give him enough time to choose... It isn't fair". The woman was willing to have another man, woman or child killed IF the drawing was redone! She happily participated right up to the end where she did an abrupt about-face as the 'Game of Life' spinner stopped on her families number.
Do you want to live in a China, North Korea or Islamic State where money buys Government to suppress opposition? Where one wrong move and you are on the wrong side of the losing draw? Do you want to be the one saying 'Redo... it's not fair'?
What Steem Means to Me
I came to Steem because it has a couple of my top passions: learning and making money. I can't tell you how much I enjoy learning. In any given week on Monday I can learn how to start a fire using primitive sources, Wednesday I can learn about technical analysis, Thursday brings me secrets of hollow earth ;) and Friday teaches me different ways to meditate. Truth is what I seek. I weed through the never-ending silly cat videos, click bait and "Dr's say to eat this" ads to find an OUNCE of truth about the lies we have been living in this world. If you ask me what the number one takeaway that the social media age has brought to the foreground is, I would have to say the thumbs up button. The individual single action of up-voting information, collectively, pushes truth to the top of the list. It's simplistic in it's idea but profound when you see the collective notion this little button brings. Steem has it but what is lacking? What is the crux of the issue?
Steem Problem - I don't have a solution YET
A steemian carries majority vote inside of their Steem Power. EVERYTHING else is pretty much useless. As a multi millionaire (I wish) I could buy my way into Steem and become a HUGE WHALE!! If I could, I would. Not many people would pass up an opportunity to be on the ground floor when technical analysis says that SBD and Steem are about to have a HUGE jump in price. The only thing that stops most of us is cash or the lack thereof. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have a very different model in that the more votes and subscribers you have, the higher you are rated. Steem is quite the opposite as it uses the model of the more money you have, the more you control. How does Truth get upvoted? Do we trust the current elite to educate the masses? Just because they have more money or more Steem Power, does that mean they have our best interests at heart? How does the truth of a 'plankton' voice ever reach the upper echelon if that person needs to pay her or his bills? Steem is currently a reflection of our current system and it does sadden me to have to say that. The argument I bring forth is not about Haejin, RANCHORELAXO, BernieSanders or Randomwhale. Their arguments are merely a symptom of a system that has a glaring flaw. If a few succeed in removing Haejin then what's there to stop the next person? Until more weight is assigned to subscriber count, upvotes and reputation score in factoring our standings, truth will always take a back seat to money.