Today is America’s Independence Day, a celebration of our freedom from the British Empire and the bureaucratic tyranny that thousands of miles of ocean removed from our lives. The Revolutionary War that won us that freedom was not something that happened overnight, or something that was sparked by a single event or circumstance in the short term. Rather, it was the result of more than a century of governmental influence over the colonists who settled in North America.
Likewise, Bitcoin was not born out of the single event of the Great Financial Crisis. Just as colonists coping with more than a century of rising taxes, overbearing regulations, and general exploitation gave birth to the United States, decades of parasitic economic and financial measures gave birth to Bitcoin.
Whereas America and the conflicts that led to its creation were rooted in bureaucracies separated by physical distance, Bitcoin was born out of problems rooted in existential disconnection rather than physical space. Just as the king and his advisors in England had a detached, impersonal view of the people on the other side of the Atlantic, today’s bureaucrats have a detached, mechanistic view of the people they govern despite the lack of physical distance.
Politicians, regulators, bureaucrats, and financial executives do not see the people they govern, or make decisions that radically change the course of their lives or circumstances, as real people. They see numbers, statistics, stereotypes, and generalizations. They see impersonal characters and patterns that someone seems to fit at first glance, and they make their decisions based on that.
They have no empathy, no understanding of an individual’s personal circumstances, life situation, or the problems they are dealing with because of the automated decision making in the halls of Congress, the SEC building, or the bank.
But why do we look to these people for approval, for a path to success, for a glimmer of hope for that understanding? Imagine if America, a decade after achieving independence, turned to England for help in achieving its success. Does that make sense to you? Does that seem like a fruitful path to success and prosperity?
The answer has to be a resounding “no.” They don’t care about you, me, or any of us.
But why do so many Bitcoin users look to these parasites and narcissists for salvation? It is an indication of the complete loss of the plot, the purpose for which Bitcoin was created. Much like the current state of America as a nation, lost and disconnected from the purpose and ideals on which it was originally founded. Freedom, self-determination, and justice.
These people are not here to help us, they are not here to turn Bitcoin into a beacon of individual freedom. They are here to exploit, sabotage, and maintain their place in the world where they can remain ruthlessly separate from the rest of us in a state of safety and well-being for themselves.
America was founded precisely because they realized that England would not grant them self-determination or freedom. The Founding Fathers recognized this fact, and they set out to achieve it on their own terms, by building something new, something innovative that the world had never seen before.
It’s no different with Bitcoin, but instead of adhering to these principles and ideals, Bitcoin supporters seem content to return to England to seek permission to self-determine. Asking for permission to achieve their freedom.
This is wrong. Bitcoin was created to be this new, independent, innovative thing the world had never seen before. It was created to stand alone as a foundation for sovereignty and self-determination. It is not something we ask permission to acquire, build upon, or use.
We need to stick to this, not beg politicians and regulators to pave the way to an easy path to “success,” which is actually just failure wrapped in resignation. Bitcoin is here, it was put here without asking permission, without begging the king to let it stay, and it will stay here.
Whether it succeeds or fails is not up to politicians, regulators, or Wall Street money, but up to us.
Happy Fourth of July to those who still seek self-determination rather than permission.