submitted by jwithrow.
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Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Ban Bitcoin?
May 23, 2019
Hot Springs, VA
“Bitcoin is the most subversive technology on the planet. This is a system that is growing around the entire world. But Bitcoin is just math. The government, no matter how many guns they draw, cannot change a mathematical problem. They can point their guns at 2+2 but it’s always going to equal 4.” – Erik Vorhees
The S&P closed today’s trading session at $2,822. Gold closed at $1,283 per ounce. Crude Oil closed at $58.12 per barrel. The 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.29%. Bitcoin is trading around $7,819 per BTC today.
Dear Journal,
Spring gradually gives way to summer up here in the mountains of Virginia.
And while the outside world frets over geopolitics… trade wars… wealth gaps… elections… and whatever else the news puts in front of them, I quietly admire the brilliance of nature.
You see, the seasons represent change. Unstoppable change. They turn with nature’s cycles whether we want them to or not.
Each season comes with its own beauty. And its own drawbacks.
The choice we have to make is whether to focus on the good… or the bad. That’s it.
And I believe that choice is what determines the course of our life.
Contentment or anger… love or hate… success or failure… it’s all in how we view the world.
Einstein said that there are only two ways to live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.
Was he right? I don’t know. But I bet there’s some wisdom in there somewhere.
And speaking of wisdom, U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman urged Congress to ban Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies last week.
His statement tells me that, after calling Bitcoin a “crock” previously, he finally gets it. Here’s Sherman:
“I look for colleagues to join with me in introducing a bill to outlaw cryptocurrency… so that we nip this in the bud.
An awful lot of our international power comes from the fact that the U.S. dollar is the standard unit of international finance and transactions. Clearing through the New York Fed is critical for major oil and other transactions. It is the announced purpose of the supporters of cryptocurrency to take that power away from us, to put us in a position where the most significant sanctions we have… would become irrelevant.”
Notice how the veil has been lifted.
They used to say that Bitcoin was a scam that would trick naïve investors and rob Grandma of her retirement funds… All while empowering criminals. They wanted you to believe that their crusade against Bitcoin was just to protect innocent people.
But Mr. Sherman reveals what this is really about: power.
Bitcoin has always been about empowering individuals on a global scale. From those of us living in the wealthy developed world… To the billions of people living without bank accounts in the Third World.
Bitcoin gives all of us an honest and transparent monetary system… For the first time in human history. And I promise you, that will unlock wealth and unleash human creativity upon the world to a degree never seen before.
But it will take power away from those who want to control others by force. Those who want to influence everyone’s behavior… skim from their transactions… monitor their activities… and herd them into top-down societal models where force, coercion, theft, and violence are the lynchpins of human organization.
That’s the Bronze Age model. And as I mentioned last week… it’s dead.
The season is turning. The 20th century is giving way to the 21st.
And Bitcoin is the blooming cherry blossom. It’s how you know summer is almost here.
Bitcoin is the gateway to a society governed by unbridled human ingenuity, voluntary collaboration, and reputational systems that incentivize good actors and lock bad actors out entirely. A society where abundance is unrestrained by corruption, bureaucracy, lobbying, and waste… Because they are rendered impossible by technology.
A society where human beings finally realize their full potential.
Too utopian? Perhaps. It won’t all be roses.
But the new season is coming nevertheless… And I choose to focus on the good.
More to come,
Joe Withrow
Wayward Philosopher
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