Two years ago my world was rocked when two men who were very close to me died. My grandfather Joe and my close friend Aaron.

My grandfather suffered for months and my friend died in his sleep, but both deaths hit me very hard. They were very close to me and I admired them deeply. I cannot overstate what these two meant to me.

A few months later, I was fired from my job...

By my father.

Oh and this was two weeks after I’d signed a one-year lease within walking distance from my now-former workplace.

It was a day before my birthday.

Happy birthday son!

That is not where the story ends, but I suppose it will end for now. Needless to say, the last few years of my life have been…interesting.

And that’s not even the weirdest situation I’ve ever been in. I was once left “at the altar” (though it was technically a few hours before the wedding).

I’d convinced about twenty of my family and friends to drive from Texas to Colorado for the wedding. Some of them rented tuxes. Most of them rented hotels.

And then I had to go tell them the deal was off.

It was weird.

The next day my fiancé called. I wasn’t taking her calls, but my best man insisted I hear her out.

She’d told me she’d changed her mind. She wanted to elope. Then and there.

I said no thanks.

When I was 18 years old I littered on the White House lawn. Just tossed some trash right over the fence.

Seconds later I was being swarmed by secret service agents. Who threw it!? They demanded.

Whew! I wasn’t spotted...

But then my friend ratted on me. He literally pointed me out. facepalm

The secret service was not amused.

Anyway, those are stories for another time. I’m trying not not make this too long, so back to the bio:

I went to law school and passed the bar exam, but I cannot offer legal advice. That is because I’ve stopped sending money every year to the Texas State Bar. Now I make my living as an entrepreneur, working happily side-by-side with my great wife.

So that’s me. I’m Pushing.Truth and I’m an honesty enthusiast. Raw, unfiltered honesty is what this world needs more of - and it is becoming harder and harder to come by.

We have incentives every day to hide our true selves and to censor what we say. We fear offending, sure, but we also fear being ostracized. We fear the negative consequences of truth. And that fear is natural - because the price can be mighty high.

We are social animals, us humans, and being an outcast is bad for our mental and even physical health.

Well, that is the world we live in - often punished in very real ways, simply for holding a belief.

And I’ve learned that when powerful elements of society make it taboo to ask questions - then it’s usually in my interest to start asking questions.

At least it ought to be. But only if I am willing to risk being ostracized. And sometimes I am a coward. Sometimes I value acceptance over being right.

And that is a flaw.

And every day I try to overcome that flaw. I try to open my mind.

I’m trying to speak my thoughts at the risk of being wrong. And to be open to new evidence and arguments. And to proudly proclaim when my mind has changed - not fearing the repercussions of being different from my community.

This practice is known as “intellectual honesty”. Intellectual honesty is difficult, it is extreme powerful, and it is completely neutered in an environment of censorship.

Facebook has grandmothers and potential employers and a whole slew of pressures to restrict and censor. And then it censors at the corporate level, Shadow-banning accounts and blocking groups. We are double censored there, and the culture in political conversations has never been more disrespectful and unproductive.

And it doesn’t end at Facebook. Youtube video creators are now heavily incentivized to leave the controversial stuff out. The money and the power are pushing honesty further and further away from the public discourse.

And the idea that this platform could turn this tide makes me feel honored to be a part of it.

I have been reading your articles for a while now and I am impressed with the overall quality of writing. Most of the articles I read here are very well researched and well written - especially when compared with traditional blogs and what passes for journalism these days.

The diversity of opinion here really shines through and there is a level of respect in the comments. It is a much more mature culture here than the average corner of the internet.

I am humbled by the opportunity to contribute here and look forward to learning from you as we build this eternal blockchain together.