A Pleb's Journey, Pt. 2
Understanding Your Environment & Action with Clear Intention.
Part one of A Pleb’s Journey can be found here.
~ I really enjoyed Maria Popova’s quote that can be used as a disclaimer to anyone reading this that the purpose of my writings are “in the hope that these thoroughly subjective insights of a single consciousness might be of succor or salve to another”.
Understanding Your Environment.
“Whenever there is the lack of understanding of environment there must be conflict. Environment gives birth to conflict, and so long as we do not understand environment, conditions, surroundings, and are merely seeking substitutions for these conditions, we are evading one conflict and meeting another. But if in that acuteness of suffering which brings forth in its fullness a conflict, if in that state we begin to question environment, then we shall understand the true worth of environment, and intelligence then functions naturally. Hitherto mind has identified itself with conflict, with environment, with evasions and, therefore, with suffering; that is, you say, ‘I suffer,’ whereas in that state of acuteness of suffering, in that intensity of suffering in which there is no longer escape, mind itself becomes intelligence.” - J. Krishnamurti
In Part 1 of A Pleb’s Journey, I left off with leaving my neck of the woods and deciding to move to Austin, TX… the Bitcoin Capital of the world. I want to go over other resources of knowledge that provide an understanding of the current state of American society. Without the previous base of knowledge that I had obtained before stumbling upon bitcoin, I would've fallen prey to the gaslighting and misinformation being spewed by media, various institutions, and governments around the world.
I think it is worth the time to evaluate how young generations, or even older ones, may perceive the modern world today without a viable source of truth and knowledge, a religious foundation, a strong sense of awareness and intuition, or disciplined principles in the present times. How technology, daily distractions, modern academia, and untruthful media can effectively misguide and indoctrinate individuals to the narrative being driven. Providing the context of my story and personal experiences may help people grasp why there is dedicated time and energy focused on bitcoin infrastructure and how learning about the revolving topics around bitcoin can transcend individual character and become a map for life ahead.
The first part of this series provided an in-depth personal narrative of the challenges one can face at the beginning of their life in modern-day society. Providing this anecdote displayed that it is the sole responsibility of the individual when regarding how they can learn from challenges and improve from painful experiences through reflection and action moving forward. I hope that the personal walkthrough of what I experienced can provide a shared feeling of connectedness that incentives personal responsibility regardless of the cards you are dealt with…
2020 brought a lot of volatility into our lives. Society had been focused on the harm Covid could bring to our physiological health and how political leaders would react to diminish the rate of that unknown potential health hazard. Throwing more chaos into the mix, the social disruption of George Floyd's death and heightened polarized politics within the U.S. significantly escalated as the virus spread. This stoked the fire in an already heated ideological divide and greatly influenced our lives even in the privacy of our own homes.
From a personal perspective, the social restrictions enacted and information being delivered to society by corporate media and our so-called "leaders” were disastrous. We are social creatures, and surrounding ourselves within a community strengthens our character. These restrictions bankrupted communities mentally, emotionally, socially, economically, and spiritually. And the media's financial incentive to portray fear continued to hammer the divisive wedge.
US political ideologies have steadily grown over the past few decades to become increasingly hostile. I believe Covid was an opportunity for the media and government to transition opposing political ideologies into lifestyle ideologies. An opportunity for basic ways of living to be scrutinized by members of local communities and governed by the federal and provincial governments (see how the CCP is handling it and how this could spread to other nations of the world). For example, in the beginning months of lockdowns, I lived in a liberal-leaning area of the U.S.. I was scrutinized for wanting to get more data on the vaccine before taking it, and I had friends who would've lost their jobs (even working fully remote) if they didn't take it.
For years I tuned out of politics primarily because of the emotional outrage it typically ignites. I also did not know the political spectrum and public policies well. But at this point, it seemed to me that it was rather consequential not to get an improved, rational understanding of the psychology and moral foundations behind each political party. Why opposing views, judgments, and intuitions clashed so hysterically and how this could accelerate/evolve as we become more technologically advanced.
Prior to Covid, I read a book called The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt which provides the reader with a tour of human nature and history. He breaks down the book into three parts and depicts how the six pillars of the human moral foundations and the functioning of the cognitive process can lean people towards one or the other political party:
Part 1: He explains that intuition comes first, reasoning second. He uses a depiction of a rider (reason) guiding an elephant (intuition) to explain how the cognitive process functions.
“Moral judgment is a cognitive process, as are all forms of judgment. The crucial distinction is really between two different kinds of cognition: intuition and reasoning.” - Haidt
Takeaway: be more patient with other people and try not to dismiss or refute others' arguments so quickly. Hear out peoples' beliefs and opinions and formulate discussions around others' elephants, i.e., their intuition. Build upon the skill to openly debate with people you may disagree with.
Part 2: Become suspicious of Moral Monists. Takeaway: Society is complex, and there is a plurality of ideals. A fundamentalist approach that adheres to one moral foundation does not effectively work. But the number of human values that maintain a balanced character is finite. Simply put, avoid close-minded, one-size-fits-all people if you've already been allowed to debate with them.
Part 3: Haidt remarks that the exclamation that people are outrightly selfish does not line up with our evolutionary history. It is also in our nature to be compatible with like-minded individuals.
“We may spend most of our waking hours advancing our own interests, but we all have the capacity to transcend self-interest and become simply a part of a whole. It’s not just a capacity; it’s the portal to many of life’s most cherished experiences.” - Haidt
Haidt does a phenomenal job intertwining evolutionary history, the moral foundations, religion, and the cognitive process with how they all have evolved to bring us to the state of modern-day political hostility. Human beings are designed for groupish righteousness. We are all geared towards finding a meaningful purpose.
My theory after reading the book is that a large portion of modern-day society has dwelled on short-term, low-valued, materialistic distractions that have become addictions and this has distorted peoples' perceptions and personalized callings. The evolution of 20th-century worldly desires and attainments have evolved into an even more difficult hedonic treadmill to hop off of now with the advent of smartphones, junk food, etc.
This has rewired our brains to the extent that it has made it difficult to emerge from these short-term patterns and intimately understand our own true nature. The advancement of smartphone technology has also led society to become less unified and more individualistic, especially during Covid lockdowns. On the other hand, smartphone technology can bring more unification if we use it strategically and wisely.
The Righteous Mind provided context for me to have broad discussions with others that I may not have agreed with and also led me to question why I, and others, may lean to one side. By evaluating which moral foundations I leaned further into due to my own nature and the experiences I faced growing up, I understood why I might lean more to the left or the right side of the political spectrum. Haidt's writings empowered me to overcome the adrenaline and emotional turmoil that may arise during conversations with others that consist of contrary beliefs.
From a personal perspective, some people in my life were incapable of constructing healthy discourse that elevates our perspectives and tests our previous understandings/biases. It typically led to emotional tension and forestalled the development of deep connections because of the inability to make this discourse a habit.
This inability to practice regular discourse due to a lack of emotional intelligence and effective non-reactionary communication, especially with the people you care about the most, was the next subject that piqued my natural curiosity. Why is it that healthy discourse is becoming more difficult for us? Enter Haidt’s more recent book, The Coddling of the American Mind.
“What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretations of their significance.” - Epictetus
Haidt and co-author Greg Lukianoff lay out in this book multiple topics that outline why younger generations in the US are currently experiencing more cases of poor mental health. There is a combination of societal causations that are forming weaker generations. A few that they mention are:
Cognitive distortions, the more common one being emotional reasoning which has been defined by David D. Burns: “that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: ‘I feel it, therefore it must be true.’ ”
A high use of smartphone devices that greatly affects the wiring process of neural development during pertinent stages of growth.
Paranoid, or “helicopter”, parenting which leads to the cult of safteyism that eliminates children’s ability to become exposed to challenges within limits.
“The human mind evolved for living in tribes that engaged in frequent (and often violent) conflict; our modern-day minds readily divide the world into ‘us’ and ‘them,’ even on trivial or arbitrary criteria.”
Common-enemy identity politics and microagression theory leading to callout culture within US academic institutions, and the bureaucracy of safteyism that is developing within academic institutions. This has led to more administrators than teachers of life.
All of the various damaging societal causations referenced in the book are coinciding with tumultuous social events:
“Important, terrifying, thrilling, and shocking events happen every year, but the years from 2012 through 2018 seem like the closest we’ve come to the intensity of the stretch from 1968 to 1972. And if you are not convinced that the last few years are extraordinary by objective measures, then just add in the amplifying power of social media. Not since the Vietnam War and the civil rights struggles of the 1960s have so many Americans been exposed to a seemingly endless stream of videos showing innocent people—mostly people of color—being beaten, killed, or deported by armed representatives of the state. Today’s college students have lived through extraordinary times, and, as a result, many of them have developed an extraordinary passion for social justice.” - Haidt & Lukianoff
Combine the continuous incentive towards a comfort-crisis mission to coddle younger generations' emotional wellbeing with divided politics, covid sanctions, and centralized internet entities manipulating mind capture via controlled algorithms, and you get a lot of close-minded, confused, and enraged members of society. The effects of synthetic ingredients and less nutrient-dense foods also disrupt peoples’ overall health, which is being propagated by the MPAC (a subject for another time, but that article is a great read). This mixed concoction leads to less independent, critical thinkers and more indoctrinated ideologues. But fear not! There is a cure:
Reading these books discouraged my outlook on the future for some time. But it did inspire me towards a call to action. I received a much better understanding of what was occurring within American society. Still, I had no idea how to effectively communicate this understanding on a scalable level, tempering the societal outrage thermometer down a notch.
I was able to truly grasp the knowledge from these books/online experiences during Covid and the social hostility because I experienced the addictive pull of social media outrage myself. I had experienced the unhealthy standard American diet and low self-esteem due to not aligning with my higher self and a mission more significant than my own being. I was experiencing poor mental health due to some factors listed within the Coddling of the American Mind. And as I had slowly begun to turn an optimistic new leaf through my own personal journey, I faced turmoil within relationships due to political and covid mandate disagreements.
As the lockdowns continued to ensue for longer than most expected I grew disappointed when observing some of my family members and friends. The way in which these individuals closest to me were so enthused to allow our government to sweep in restrictive controls within daily American life due to the virus startled me. They were barely questioning the overreach of the mandates, as well as the efficacy of the vaccine, while vehemently scolding people within their closest circles who were hesitant towards it.
People who practice a healthy lifestyle with mindfulness daily were considered selfish if they wanted to take another route other than the vaccine. Functional medicine didn’t exist in the minds of the fearful and is, in my opinion, a much better healthcare plan for humanity. Some of this anger was passed along from our own White House, quoting: "For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm.” Come to find out months later that the vaccine doesn’t prevent the spread of the virus and natural immunity has proved to be an effective alternative.
As much as the virus was a physiological threat to a portion of society, from my perspective, it was more of a threat to our freedoms—freedom of choice. Federal vaccine mandates introduced digital passports that had implications of evolving into a social credit system and digital identifier, limiting privacy and the freedom to act (see this example once again).
A lot of people that have a more technical base of knowledge knew precisely where this could lead. But others that couldn't see through the potential second-order effects of this digital passport proposition thought it could lead to the light at the end of the Covid tunnel, which is understandable to the commoner since the media was driving constant fear. As mentioned within the Coddling of the American Mind, the growing number of fragile minds began to show their true colors. Instead of contributing to healthy discourse on the topic of the virus and vaccines, there were fearful reactions towards the unvaccinated, which were astonishing, coming from well-known media networks. 🧵 👇
I turned my unhealthy habits around prior to 2020, but they were slightly disrupted once Covid ensued. The healthy habits were not yet ingrained into my lifestyle. I observed others around me practicing an unhealthier lifestyle once the pandemic limited our daily activities. I felt like I had to get moving in a direction that would provide long-term stability. When looking at the state of the economy and observing the success of my family stemming from traditional financial advising, I began to study for my financial licenses in order to immerse myself into a traditional finance career. At the same time, I had crossed paths with The Bitcoin Standard.
Action with Clear Intention.
I had only worked for a financial firm for nine months, spanning between the end of 2020 to mid-2021. Half of that was working remotely and studying for my licenses. During my brief tenure it became somewhat painful to work in the traditional financial system once I began to grasp bitcoin and how the current monetary system was failing society. I noticed the complexities of TradFi and how various financial products were introduced, forcing savers to become professional investors and taking on more risk.
I realized that expanding our credit system and manipulating market interest rates via monetary interventionism created an “over-financialized” economy. This intervention creates financial products that would not exist otherwise in an economy with sound money. A monetary system in the hands of a small group of people that becomes consistently devalued forces attention toward financial products that transform the simple act of saving money into a constant investment analysis towards more risky investment classes. An economy that utilizes resources and attention towards a more complex financial sector depletes concentration on other valuable sectors of the economy. TLDR: The simple act of saving income earned in a bank account is out the door, and investing, which was once considered a risky endeavor, is the only option to maintain wealth earned.
Looking back, that position provided experience within the current fiat monetary system and the chance to join a bitcoin-focused team, and so, I am grateful for the opportunity. I felt a strong, compelling force within me to take action by implementing the knowledge grasped, bringing forth personal Proof-of-Work.
As soon as I had acquired my financial licenses, I began interviewing with a couple bitcoin companies. I eventually landed a job offer with a bitcoin native financial services startup, Unchained Capital. Thrilled to help build out the operations and actively learn about the bitcoin network while maintaining a living wage brought feelings of immense gratitude. The team members, that I now consider my dear friends, present a humbling energy of dedication and creativity which encourages me to more optimally shape my own knowledge-base and character.
Just before my last two weeks at the traditional fiat firm, I decided to attend the 2021 Miami Bitcoin Conference. The experience was overwhelmingly positive. I encountered dozens of highly creative and intelligent people that demonstrated an embodiment of true dedication towards the success of bitcoin adoption. Attending this conference was important. Observing the culture and ethos around bitcoin in person made me realize that this wasn't a fairytale expressed on the internet. Being able to meet bitcoin enthusiasts in person helped me grasp that this movement was happening whether the world wanted it to or not. The guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast describes his experience of attending the 2022 Bitcoin Miami Conference below. 👇
Understanding the fundamentals of bitcoin and the network’s objective technical properties will clarify how, as an individual, you will have more influence with your voice and actions. Storing your wealth earned through time into a finite, censorship-resistant, and decentralized asset gives you access to freely express yourself via transacting or coordinating decisions in the future. This is remarkably superior to storing your wealth in fiat (USD, Euro, etc.), which can be considered a melting ice cube, i.e., your savings account is (melting away) devalued more as time goes on.
For the outsiders that feel intimidated due to either lacking complicated technical knowledge or programming skills, it doesn't matter. There are many people immersed within the industry that offer other forms of contributions. Education is an important aspect that the world needs more of. Accounting, compliance, marketing, client relationship skills etc. will all be needed. Learning about the more esoteric technological aspects will be a bonus along the way. There are a plethora of open positions within the industry.
I began the long drive from New England to Texas a few months after the conference. Leaving my neck of the woods to immerse myself into a culture that was focused on bitcoin infrastructure seemed adventurous, no doubt. It felt a bit risky. It also felt intimidating. Leaving the known, conditioned environment in which I was raised. Choosing to surround myself with a diehard, headstrong, self-sovereign, and independent-minded community put me to the test of self-evaluation. I have been proactive in my intentions to guarantee my incentives, goals, actions, and character aligns with the ethos of higher values and principles.
In September of 2021, I officially became a resident of Texas 🤠. I began meeting and conversing with bitcoin pioneers that worked at Unchained Capital and others within the bitcoin space. It was refreshing to discuss aligned beliefs and views with sovereign individuals while being immersed in healthy discourse where we may have disagreements. Attending Austin Bitdevs, Austin Bitcoin Club, Austin Litdevs, and other bitcoin events in person have enabled me to listen to technical pioneers and thought leaders that are innovating around the clock to provide society with the tools to utilize bitcoin more intuitively—working day and night to move the bitcoin adoption needle one normie at a time.
“When this reality came into focus for me over the course of 2016 and 2017, I also arrived at the conclusion that my time would best be spent building infrastructure for bitcoin. If there is asymmetry inherent in bitcoin, infrastructure critical to the bitcoin monetary system is similarly asymmetric. However, my decision to work on bitcoin wasn’t just about financial gains. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I also consider bitcoin critical to preserving our freedoms and the American way of life. To me, working on bitcoin is an imperative. When currency fails, Venezuela happens and anyone who believes it could not happen here is not applying logic to the inevitable end game of governments all over the world printing the equivalent of trillions of dollars in perpetuity.
While most people are resigned to sit back and accept the tenuous fate of financial instability, bitcoiners are chopping wood every day to build a more resilient monetary system. Failure is not an option because the stakes could not be higher. ” - Parker Lewis
Alongside the building movement of bitcoin infrastructure, I stumbled upon a grassroots movement here in Texas that implements bitcoin into their business model, The Beef Initiative. Through this initiative, I was reminded of how centralized our food system was. The books I’ve previously mentioned above weren’t the only topics I was curious about before discovering bitcoin. Years ago, I was worried about the quality of our food and how our supply chain was centralized so that a small handful of corporations had a stranglehold on our food industry. Two books hit it home 📚.
“Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.” - Henry Kissinger
The Beef Initiative is doing God’s work. Texas Slim is on a mission to help our current generation and future generations to come. Attending a conference in the Hill Country of Texas provided hope in a world where the degradation of our soil and food ingredients have been decimating the health and lives of the people we love. Degrading the work-lifestyles of the productive members of our society: Ranchers and Farmers.
Forming an enterprise that connects passionate bitcoiners and ranchers together will create a network of sovereign communities to tap into sound money and sound food that won’t be halted by the powers above. Unshackling from the restrictions of the conglomeration of corporations that have reaped industrial profits made from years of perpetual war. The movement aims to move away from factory farms, inhumane animal treatment, synthetic pesticides, hormone therapy, and GMO’s. Instead, moving towards regenerative farming, a direct system linking consumer with producer, and enabling ranchers/farmers to preserve their hard earned time, energy, and marginal profits by utilizing a censorship resistant, scarce asset.
From ranch to client freezer, ranchers are immersing their businesses in this initiative which connects consumers directly to producers and allows the use of a peer-to-peer monetary system. Sound food, sound money, sound minds & bodies, proliferating as time passes. Here in Austin, communities are waking up to the importance of shaking their rancher’s hand and investing in their businesses while simultaneously improving their lives by consuming clean, nutrient-dense food at low cost. They are opting out of the industrial sludge products that a large portion of America is mindlessly putting into their bodies. It’s time for consumers to become intentional contributors to the lives of younger generations.
Bitcoiners are here to guide other individuals to open their minds by way of action and setting an example. To fight against the distorted markets and sectors of the economy. With more critical thinking individuals, the various forms of media, which has drastic influence during modern times, can be pressured to pursue truth within their institutions. This can reverberate outwards. But as it stands now, it is a challenge for individuals to find the needle in the haystack. That needle being the channel of truth and clarity.
Humanity finds itself standing in the middle of an inflection point. The internet, modern telecommunications technology, social media, and now bitcoin are completely disrupting the comfort and control the old guard has enjoyed for quite some time. Individuals the world over have the capability to access the truth. However, this access is a double edged sword. Individuals can broadcast and share information, but so can the old guard which is dead set on maintaining its control over the masses.
This is the battle we find ourselves today. Humanity is racing against an old guard - which controls governments and large corporations - that is aggressively trying to pit the masses against each other by creating "others" amongst them using topics like COVID, gun control, abortion, and taxes so that they can engender a class of useful idiots who are easily programmed and will willingly go along with preventing humanity from escaping their grasp. This is the challenge we face. How do we ensure that the old guard isn't successful in creating an obedient class… who will justify atrocities and restrictions on civil liberties because they've been programmed to think that what they are doing is virtuous and just? - Marty Bent
As I near my first anniversary as a resident of Texas, I have reflected on how individuals can optimally contribute value towards bitcoin, which I deem to be the most critical technology in modern times. Daily learning, providing education, working for a bitcoin company, partaking in community events, writing on platforms like substack, improving your character daily, etc. We can all make a small impact on building a better society via the encouragement of returning to a sound form of money. The bitcoin community is growing here in Austin and around the country.
I look forward to watching the growth of bitcoin infrastructure…
Stay tuned for future writings… Find me on twitter.
During my time writing Part 2, I spoke on Talking in Bits. Watch or listen to the full episode here or immediately below 👇
My views here are my own and not representative of Unchained Capital.
