I have a few classes to teach tomorrow, and a Halloween party to dress up for, where I'll hand out candy to all the little kiddies as they come up to me on the little stage and say Trick or Treat! That notwithstanding, here I am, in front of the computer at 3:32 am, having just finished putting a little Bitcoin into my brand new Trezor cold storage device. There's a homescreen preset that shows an image of a bank, and the text reads, in all caps: MY BANK.

I just read an article linked to me by a friend on Facebook today about a Michigan man now facing jail time because he made a decent chunk of money for himself selling Bitcoins via LocalBitcoins.com. One of my friends commented on the article: "What did he do wrong?" I answered simply that he made some money for himself the state had no part of. They really, really don't like that. Especially when their fiat garbage that they continue to print and inflate cannot hold a candle to something like Bitcoin that actually makes economic sense.

As I sit here with my little Trezor, and marvel at all its little freshly generated addresses, I can't help but think how hard it is going to be for the parasite class to track all this sound money down. What can they do if they do not wish for us to keep our own money? They can beat us. Fine us. Make our lives a living hell. Throw us in a prison. Kill us. This type of behavior certainly does put a damper on things. But you know what? As long as a few individuals around the globe are bold enough to keep their nodes running, and as long as friends and family members have access to paper wallets, little devices like the Trezor, etc, this money is ours.

Blockchain technology is already being co-opted for surveillance purposes. It is best to be wise. Gold is your friend. Just remember, the state took that by force, too, after all their banks collapsed in the what is now known as the "Great Depression." These are all the types of names inane historians give to phenomena that could have been avoided, had sound economics and free markets been allowed to function and thrive. What I am trying to say ultimately is, even if crypto did "fail" at the hands of violent nation states, the idea remains, and is bulletproof and absolutely liberating to the human spirit.

Even if the last crypto advocate is chained to the wall of his jail cell for transacting with a currency not approved by the state, or for not reporting the possession of said currency, or for buying a plant with said currency the state calls "illegal," I still win. You know why? The idea. The idea, the truth, and the reality that money is a symbol of human dignity, and that it is a right idea, and one worth fighting for.

Money says that our time and effort have value. Indeed, that our lives and hard work are worth something. What an insult to your dignity as a miraculous center of consciousness--a human being--when a group of parasitic individuals called "the state" decide that they will siphon this dignity, value time, and effort from you, without your consent. You will start to hate even yourself for putting up with this, at times. They are essentially claiming they own you, and putting their own subjective value on your life.

It is said that taxation and inflation are theft, and this is true, but as my friend Chris says, theft implies a one time event. It is more apt to say that taxation is slavery.

Sometimes we have to pay the mugger in the park to avoid being shot. I get that. There is no shame in this. We all must walk the line we need to. Taxation is the same. The state is threatening violence and demanding your hard-earned value. Sometimes we have to survive and be strategic. That said. Don't EVER forget the reality that the violator is the one with the gun, and not the one being coerced.

PEACE!

~KafkA

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Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)