Steemit needs to be more than just rewards

Once upon a time, blogging was about people sharing their lives, discussing their hopes and fears, talking about their loves and hates, their passions and interests, what they loved and what they hated. People of the world coming together and sharing and exchanging views and opinion. An amazing place to learn about each other and our lives. An ideal place to nurture understanding and peace.

And now we have Steemit.

And the money took over.

The rewards themselves are not a bad thing. Imagine living a difficult life in developing nation where you fight to put food on the table everyday. Where life is difficult, a struggle. You're not starving but you don't have a great deal of fun, certainly not to the extent that the vast majority of Europeans, Aussies and North Americans do. Suddenly, there is an opportunity to make a few dollars from blogging and creating content. Ahhh but English isn't your first language. No problem, you know a few words, you'll do what you can. So you post and post and nothing. You make nothing. So you try and game it and things go from bad to worse, you get flagged, your rep drops, you give up. Opportunity lost.

Meanwhile, the older members pull together, posting amazing articles about hi tech stuff only they understand or amazing pieces about psychology and self improvement, teaching the rest of us how to improve our lives. Others, lecturing us on the evil of GMO foods, how our kids are going to be autistic if we have them vaccinated, why we shouldn't eat animals, eat organic only, you'll live forever. Smoke weed, grow hemp, broaden your horizons with travel. Spouting facts and figures from hours spent deep googling. Big Pharma, big food, big government, all bad. AI, VR, Dapps, BTC, its the future. Patting each other on the back with £££ rewards, whilst thinking of the next lesson they can teach us as they stare into their £2k Apple Macbooks and deciding what to have for dinner. Let's have the wild farmed organic gluten-free tofu, that's got to be worth a few days of longevity. In fact I'll write about it, that's got to be worth a few hundred.

Writing about something has merits, writing and discussing changes the world. But not as much as actually DOING something does. It's a little like praying. A way to soothe your own conscience without it hurting your pocket. Improve your own sense of self-worth by writing about an issue that moves you without any actual engagement. Feels good! Especially when you go back and see you've been rewarded $18.56, happy days.

I just saw a post on Dtube this morning from a guy who sang 'Imagine' and wrote the lyrics, in memory of the kids who just died in Florida. Kerching, $236.00. I truly hope he sends the whole amount to a worthy cause. If he doesn't, he's a piece of shit. He could have at least turned off the rewards to get his message over.
I don't see many songs being sung when schoolkids in Pakistan get shot dead at their desk or blown up into small pieces as happens on an almost weekly basis. He probably doesn't read the news. Big media and all that.

Steemit had an opportunity, perhaps still has, to change the world. To improve peoples lives. Instead it appears to foster that worst of human emotions. Greed.
Again as you read this, 50 or 60 kids around the world have died from hunger or hunger-related illness.

Despite my inane and useless unorganised ramblings, I'm not against people making money. I just want the distribution to be fairer. I'm not so naive as to know there will always be people who have more than others but the proportions have to change, Even just slightly would be a huge help to those at the bottom. The equality is grotesque. In Steemit as in life. So, instead of writing for once, read and comment, not just on a 72 rep super whale, but on 25 rep first article. Do it, learn something.
Don't just lecture the newbies on what to do and what not to do. I'm sick to the back teeth of older members writing articles on how the rest of us should act and behave. "Don't, post short generic comments" they scold. How about you don't post condescending bullshit like some Steem dictator and before lecturing, try to understand that many of these comments come from people whose first language isn't English, and who are desperate for a few extra dollars a week to live on.
Instead of lecturing, help. Answer their comments kindly and with understanding, offer to help them write about themselves.
Hey, I know, why don't you write your 'how to' article in Arabic or Swahili? no...that's not going to happen, is it?

Please. Let's make Steemit a place of understanding, peace and compassion, and not just a greedy money grab

'Lambo or bust'. For all too many in the world its 'lunch or bust'. Remember, your greed is taking someone's dinner.

Thanks for dropping by. Your Upvotes and Resteems are gratefully received but your comments and engagement are truly appreciated. Let's keep up the debate. Thank you

@nathen007

Life's not about the hustle. It's all about the humanity