Freedom of Personal Power -5minutefreewrite, also "Why Cryptocurrency Is Important to Me"

For https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-357-5-minute-freewrite-friday-prompt-freedom-of-personal-power

Source: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/steem-dollars

So. Let's start by answering the question, "Why is cryptocurrency important to me?"

Because it lets me both be more generous and experience the generosity of others, at least insofar as that's my experience on Steemit. Over the past year and more, I've had folks send me this currency because they like what I'm doing and want to encourage me to keep doing it. That feels great. In the everyday, not-steemit world that does not happen. You have to scrabble and grasp any dime that you feel is owed you because everybody, even and especially rich folks, have fists clenched around their money. There's a desperate feeling out there that every ounce of financial security, or freedom of personal power, is only held at the expense of another, and if you were to let go of your cash, you'd also be letting go of your safety and freedom. And this is true in the society we've constructed. But here, here people offer money to each other... money, even though it is real, is a little less real seeming, maybe, or maybe there's just been a few kind souls who have engendered it. It's a community still defining itself... and so, when $ comes around someone's way, they pass it along to another and another, creating an economy of people supporting the arts. Sometimes someone has to take some money out to pay the rent. I see that happen. It's ok. Right now at least, there's still enough flowing that folks aren't as tight-fisted. They want to encourage positive behavior. Elsewhere, there are no consequences for spammers. No one is really paying for anything, and so they're treated the same as everyone else, and even though almost everyone finds them obnoxious, there's no incentive to behave otherwise. And the occasional fool will still fall for their tricks. Here, yes, there's a spam problem, but there's so much incentive to NOT be a spammer. Because you WILL get rewarded if you are consistent and friendly. Maybe not a lot. There's not SO much floating around, but a little, if you bring anything positive to the platform.

Steem Basic Income shares, though they aren't a coin, are so incredibly valuable as an asset, I think. My favorite thing about them is that they really highlight the "giving is receiving" economy. I would never think to insist that a friend pay to crash at our place. Nor would I expect to pay the to crash at their place, but with SBI, it just makes sense to give my friend, as a thank you, some SBI and they gave me some when they stayed at my place a couple months later. We're both going to benefit longterm from that. We both saved money by not needing a hotel room. And so, why not? Joy and long-term sustainability.

Now, why SBD instead of Steem? Well firstly, I do love STEEM, of course, and am clearly more invested in it. But I love that SBD does what it says it will do, even without any laws making it so. Yes it shot up on speculation, but that was dummies being dumb. I always knew and anyone who was paying attention always knew, that it would return to its peg. And its peg works. It is such a delight to know, if everything goes to heck in a handbasket, I don't need to worry (much) about the value of a currency. It's worth today what it will be worth when Steem goes to the moon, and I can just treat it like cash.
Oh yeah. *NOT financial advice.

This post is a submission to CoinGecko's ”Why Cryptocurrency Is Important to Me” Writing Contest