So we all remember the absolute abyss the tragedy that was the withdrawal of the United States from the Afghan theatre, wasn’t it? And I’m emphasizing the word “tragedy” here to keep in line with “pandemic ethicist” Dr Julie Ponessduring a recent discussion with John Vallis about the word, using it to describe a negative outcome brought about by the protagonist’s own actions (the protagonist in this case being the United States).
But what you may not know is that the United States, after leaving Afghanistan in a truly tragic position, continued these activities not by trying to redeem itself, but by freezing and then announcing plans to seize assets held by the country’s central bank, with half of the funds earmarked for victims of the September 11 attacks.
Why would the funds go to the families of the victims now, 21 years after the event? And why would these funds be provided by flying into the country of Afghanistan when the hijackers involved in this event were mainly from Saudi Arabia? Not to mention that this US activity only compounds the calamity in which the Afghan people currently find themselves.
This series of actions gives visibility to the real power of Bitcoin on the global geopolitical landscape. Why should any government have the power to grasp the value of a nation? What happens to innocent citizens who live within their borders?
It is surely not the politicians who foot the bill for these actions, it is the people.
“I came across the press articles about it and couldn’t believe it. People at the mercy of central banking and incompetent politicians couldn’t be a better reason for Bitcoin’s existence. As an American, it should be concerning that Biden could do such things so casually, and so boldly as if it was the right thing to do, because the implications are profoundly serious. Given the current socio-economic climate, the bar for enacting excessive policies has narrowed to a sort of professional limbo contest.
–Bitcoin community member Okadaby interview.
bitcoin and people
These are the people who always end up paying for these decisions. Just as with inflation and liberal monetary and fiscal policy, average citizens, those simply aiming to live their lives and raise their families, are crushed by these thinking errors.
The crushing of the Afghan people (and those in similar positions around the world) was not immediate, as one might expect or prepare for in a war. This crush is more reminiscent of a certain trash compactor from a particular sci-fi favorite, set at detention level, expressed in bank accounts, wallets, and empty stomachs. It is a slow, sapping and agonizing compression of a population. Whether it is suffocation through the illegal theft of your country’s funds or through inflation in the cost of living, it is a reality that has been able to spread through the fraudulent system of Keynesian economics.
What could be avoided if more countries like Afghanistan, and more citizens around the world, had even a portion of their wealth stored in bitcoin? What kinds of freedom can be experienced by our geographically dislocated neighbors, when even a small portion of their wealth is free from the immediate clutches of the fiduciary state?
It is the blunders in cognition, decision-making, and abuses of power that should not be granted to any government, organization, business, or individual through authoritarian controls over money. These are the vindications that continue to wash over the world like a deluge, where, instead of Noah, Bitcoin provides the ark. These developments are also a flood that highlights the conversation that needs to take place around a state, or a federation, having so much power, unchecked, over financial tools, especially having tools and authority that s extend to the surveillance of other sovereign nations. Not to mention questions about the reach of these financial tools and strategies that have seemingly infinite power, with ramifications stretching from individual heads of state to average citizens of an entire nation.
The tyrannical power over the livelihoods of geographically distant parties is what caused a community of colonies on the American continent to band together and produce a declaration of independence from their presidential power. And, sadly, it looks like we are in a similar position today – calling for the creation of a Declaration of Monetary Independence.
food for thought
The seizure of Afghan bank funds by the Biden administration is adding fuel to a fire that is already raging in that country and region.
Afghanistan, Egypt and much of the Middle East find themselves in the midst of a food crisis. Across the Middle East, water shortages have been reported as rivers (such as the Euphrates in Turkey and the Sirwan in Iraq) and lakes dry up in the region. The problem is that these crises are the result of a cacophony of issues that include natural climate change, the madness of modern industrialized agricultural practices, and decisions made by neighboring countries as well as trading partners (such as the implications of the diversion of neighbour’s water).
This pressure on food supplies is also being felt around the world:
“Global wheat prices rose 2.1%, largely reflecting new global supply uncertainties and disruptions in the Black Sea region that could potentially hamper exports from Ukraine and the Russian Federation. of Russia, two major wheat exporters. Coarse grain export prices also increased by 4.7%. Global corn prices rose 5.1% month-on-month, supported by a combination of lingering concerns over crop conditions in Argentina and Brazil, rising wheat prices and uncertainty regarding maize exports from Ukraine, a major exporter.
–FAO Food Price Index, released March 3, 2022
To make matters worse, while the United States has grabbed a sizable chunk of Afghanistan’s wealth and the region is already suffering from droughts that are troubling a taxed nation, the war between Ukraine and Russia is making drive the prices of commodities such as wheat and corn through the roof, while also driving up the price of fertilizers (for reasons discussed in one of my previous articles here).
These are glaring examples of how the fraudulent fiat system is used to supply the world with false ideals, false food, and forced wars. Fake food is sold to us as a cheap fix, under false pretenses of “being better for the environment”, and paid for by manipulating a population into bloodlust for a war that – under normal circumstances – we don’t. probably wouldn’t have wanted to start with. While serving to clog those above while siphoning off citizens below. Bitcoin stands alone with the intention of equalizing this mismatch.
Final word: Bitcoin stands alone
Many will argue that the “elite” powers Bitcoin claims to disrupt are those most capable of buying bitcoin’s supply, and they may be right – but only partially. Bitcoin still, to this day, is seen by many of these guys as a ponzi, or a vehicle for gambling and nothing more. As these wealthy individuals, hedge funds and small nations are just beginning to see the light, the fact that average citizens can buy even 1% of a single bitcoin, humanity’s toughest asset has ever known, is a blessing.
Put aside your unitary biases, your thinking that you have to own everything or nothing. How nihilistic does one have to be to believe in owning an entire bitcoin rather than owning 1% of an asset that can be split into 100 million pieces and defies the entire economic and financial system of the entire planet?
Get an amount you can afford to lose without impacting your daily life. Get a hardware wallet, secure your passphrase, then remove it from the exchanges you’ve been using.
This is a guest post by Mike Hobart. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.