I Wasn't Going To Participate
...but I've concluded that a declaration of why I am still here even with all that has been going on for over the last three weeks (is that really all it's been?) is of pretty grave importance, now more than ever.
So, to that end...
I Am Still Here...
...because STEEM is more than just posting, commenting, curating, and receiving rewards.
It is about many things, chief among them—community, diversity, freedom, transparency, immutability, censor resistance (at least), and ultimately, the transformation of governance and banking to a trustless consensus delegated proof of stake system through the use of a fast, scalable, and multiple use case (largely untapped) blockchain protocol, with a bootstrapped global digital currency.
I don't know about you, but just listing all of that gives me goosebumps.
I Am Still Here...
...because I believe STEEM is the way forward. I believe it is the future. It might not look like it does now (especially at the moment) once we get where we're going, but if there is hope for humanity that doesn't revert to complete and total worldwide corruption and inescapable oppression, it will be through STEEM or whatever similar idea that rises in its place.
I Am Still Here...
...because STEEM represents something greater than self. Behind my attempts to honor a Heavenly Father and provide for all the needs of my family, comes a desire to participate in some other good works. I believe STEEM has afforded me that through my activity here. I am not only building my own future here, but I am helping to build a future for many, many others. I'd like to do more, but even with my own financial limitations, I've gone from a plankton with no stake to a double-sized dolphin on the brink of actually earning the first dolphin portion through earnings.
I know others have done more than that. I know yet more will be able to accomplish the same things I have and surpass them. It's all good.
And it's all because of STEEM.
I Am Still Here...
...because ultimately, where else would I go?
There have been forks of STEEM. There have attempts at doing what STEEM does, or to improve upon it somehow. So far, none of those other experiments have really born as much fruit as STEEM has. With all its contention, bad actors, nonsense and questionable activity, there is also a lot of consensus, camaraderie, friendships, collaborations, development, innovations, and a sense of community and likemindedness.
There can be a lot self-serving self importance (we do love to talk about STEEM), but there are also random acts of kindness, an amazing knowledge and talent base, and if we're fighting over whatever, it's usually over how and when to do something, not because we don't want what's best for STEEM.
It's like a family full of people who are dysfunctional and you can't always stand, but it's your family, dang it.
I Am Still Here...
...because I feel I can agree to disagree. I don't have to go the way of the crowd. And no one else has to either. I don't have to be lockstep. I'm bound to take flack for it, but, in the end, most of it is out of a passion to protect and preserve, not out of malicious intent, though some of that surely exists, too.
It's taken a while to get to that perspective for me. In my mind, I would much rather an honest open debate (preferably of ideas rather than name calling and endless vitriol), than a rush to judgment and execution, but that too, is not my call alone. We all do what we feel is right, and somehow, someway, we hope to find ourselves moving forward and reaping the rewards that will come through keeping and adhering to what we feel matters most. It is through that we find and cling to our humanity.
I Am Still Here...
...because I feel compelled to create and offer my opinions. This will be my 616th post. Never have I managed to make so many so consistently for such a length of time. It's not always been easy to come up with something to say (I used to think that it was impossible to run out of topics until I had an outlet and a goal to at least post once a day), and I've had my share of burnout, but I think I've largely come to terms with what would derail me before.
I Am Still Here
...because I enjoy it. For some reason. Some days, it makes no sense. Other days, nothing else does.
For a creator, there is nothing greater in my opinion than affirmation, be it through upvotes, resteems, and comments. The only thing better is the combination of all three. I have found all of that here, especially with GINABot beeping notifications of activity on a post. It's like my own personal Pavlov's dog experiment, and as silly as it may sound, hearing those beeps makes me feel good.
Yeah, many are autovotes, sometimes large trails, and so who knows who actually is reading what I wrote.
That's okay. STEEM is a project in constant arrival. It's on the way, but hopefully, never quite getting there because there's always more that can and should be done. Striving for the best version of itself, just like we should be doing with our own selves.
I Am Still Here...
...despite the current shaky ground. I hope to continue to be here for as long as there is STEEM. I hope we can find the way forward, with all of our opinions and disagreements. I don't really want to find something else to do with my STEEM time, if I don't have to. That would mean that the dream of a better world through STEEM no longer exists in me.
I find that to be more than a little sad.
So, in the mean time, I say, STEEM on, and...
Onward and upward.
Image source—Pixabay