How I found y'all
I was invited to this community by 
Why I haven't left yet
Like crypto currencies Steemit has a bit of a learning curve, but nothing worth having is easy right? At first I thought Steemit was just for people who thought themselves talented writers. Perhaps just for aspiring bloggers or freelance journalists. This platform is so much more than any of that. This platform has the potential to completely unhinge how we view and use social media. Not only can I see a blockchain-based social media platform destroying Facebook, I can imagine it toppling mainstream media as we know it.
Like so many people out there I had to stop watching the news long ago. I can't even read a headline without cringing at the blatant bias that telegraphs through. I guess I always knew that news media in general was less than accurate, but when you step back and really look at it you see that its intentional. Whether for some nefarious mind control purposes, or simply just to get your attention and sell ad spots, count me out.
Then Steemit came along: anyone can get paid to write. Surely that is too good to be true? Well if you take the time to look beneath the surface you will find, like I did, that it is for real. Just the notion that this platform is something real makes it worth spending time on. When I began my journey down the fire escape at the edge of the Matrix I found myself questioning everything. I can't even enjoy TV anymore. Facebook and Twitter are actively monitored for political correctness. Video games are too easy for me to get lost in.
So for all those reasons and more I became very interested in Steemit. Just like I've found with crypto currencies it is well worth a little learning curve.
Who I was
Not so long ago I was a religious zealot. Not the kind that went door-to-door spreading the good news of salvation, but rather the kind that dreamed in red, white and blue.
My name is Ed, and I'm a Statist. (over two years clean now)
I wish I could say that I loved Jesus as much as I loved watching Fox News. I wish I could say I didn't join the Army right out of high school with aspirations of being a high-speed soldier. I knew all kinds of things about the occult ceremonies and rites of the church of Statism. I knew words like caucus, filibuster, and legislature. I had all my favorite saints memorized and was quick to regurgitate their gospels. You guessed it, I even thought roads were built by government.
Who I am
Anyway, so I fired myself from that hideous religion and now I actually have to be accountable for my actions. I have to consider the morality of every action; I can't simply rely on the easy-to-read laws to know what's right. Now the sermons, the epistles, the word of God all make more sense to me. I see now why Jesus was the enemy of the "religious people" of his time and that the truth is inherently divisive.
I actually love my neighbor now, and not just when they keep their lawn mowed. I don't hate people who are different than me. That alone has been so freeing. I no longer waste energy fearing the scary Muslims or the evil North Koreans. In all things I try to disregard government and acquire liberty. To put a label on it, I'm a voluntaryist.
What I do
By day I am a claims adjuster. That's what I do to pay my rent and feed my children. At night I fall asleep near my keyboard studying crypto currencies and plotting to overthrow the government. You know, just nerdy stuff. I have a crypto mining rig pieced together from old PC parts I found on Craigslist, and a server running a Vertcoin node with p2pool.
I'm also a part-time activist. I was at the Harney County Resource Center in January of 2016 (some refer to it as the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge). I got to meet some truly principled people there and made some lasting friendships. When the kids are grown I aim to be a more than part-time activist. There are some real injustices in the world, like the murder of Jack Yantis by Adams County Sheriff's Deputies, and I can't sit idly by anymore. For me, spreading the message of liberty and non-violence is a moral imperative.
I am willing to stand up against the greatest empire the world has ever seen. Are you?
Comment below if you can figure out how I came up with my screen name!
