Bitcoin Is a Declaration of Peace

This is a declaration of peace!

I will not fight you.
Because I do not need to.
I do not want to fight you.
One of us might get hurt, or even killed, and it might be me.
But if I needed to fight you, I would.
Thankfully, for both our sakes, I don’t.

I of course do not want to fight you
for a greater reason than simply avoiding getting hurt.
I want to work with you
so that I can show you the best of me,
and you can show me the best of you.

I want to co-exist in peace with you.
Thanks to Bitcoin, I can.

And if you’re not familiar with Bitcoin,
you may wonder why I think that my being familiar with it
is enough for me to declare peace on you.
Shalom. Salaam.

It is because I have a shield.
You cannot steal my wealth.
So I don’t view you as a threat.
If you asserted yourself as my enemy, I would simply laugh that off.
What are you going to do to me?
You can gain nothing by hurting me.
If you kill me, you do not gain my bitcoin;
You do not harm Bitcoin.

And, of course, I want to take nothing from you that you do not want to offer in mutually agreed exchange with me.
This is because I’m a bitcoiner.
I subscribe to the inviolable system that permits only mutually agreed upon exchange.

You’ve heard about Bitcoin.
It’s confusing.
Let me make it simple by zooming out.
This is what it is.
It’s money that can’t ever be stolen from someone who wields it responsibly.
And I have learned to wield it responsibly.

It’s not a weapon.
It’s a shield.
I can’t use it to hurt you.
And nobody can use it to hurt me.

So I declare peace unto you
whether you are ready to be at peace with me or not.
It is a unilateral declaration.
I look forward to the day when it becomes bi-lateral — truly mutual.
Will you shake my hand and give me a hug in peace right now?
I welcome it.
But I will wait if you’re not ready.
I have all the time in the world.
I have Bitcoin.

Who am I declaring peace upon?
Every person and every nation in the world.
And every company and organization too.

What are my terms?
None.
You can turn your back on me and I will initiate no violence upon you.

“So what,” you may say “there is nothing then in your offer of peace.”
The truth is quite the contrary, however.
Let me tell you what is in my offer.

First, I offer the shield to you.
I do not surrender the shield.
I will always have it with me.
But it is abundant and can protect countless people and organizations.
And so I freely give it to you.
It costs me nothing, but it gains us both something of tremendous value.
Protection from theft of your capital.
Take it.
It’s yours too.
Whenever you are ready to take it up, it is here.

I do not force this shield upon you, for I come in peace.
No man who attempts to force it upon you is with me.
It must be your choice to take up the shield.
You choose to take it up as a show of self-respect and self-assertion.
To say “What’s mine is mine and no man may take it from me!”
I offer to guide you on how to wield it so that it truly does what I have promised.
I offer to show you how to verify this for yourself without having to trust me.

Next, I offer the very best I have to give.
That, however, I do not offer for free.
I offer it in trade.
Let us trade.
Let us do so honestly.
I am responsible.
I am an adult.
You are too, I know.
I respect you.
Let us treat each other with respect and decency.
Let us see if there is a lifelong relationship we can form to one another’s mutual benefit.
If there is not, that is fine.
We can leave each other in peace, and we will find many others with whom to trade.

I do not come alone.
With me are all the others who have taken up the shield.
We are not perfect.
But we are good.
And we each wish to work to make this world better through peaceful trade of the best we each have to offer.
Have you not been looking for just such people for so long?
Here we are.
Ready.
Ready to work.
Ready to think.
Ready to trade.
Honestly and rationally.
We are a multitude, but not an army.
For we come in peace.

Our numbers grow larger every day.
But we are not a legion,
for that is a military term,
and we come in peace.

We are the free and peaceful people of Earth
and we welcome you to join us!
And we respect your decision, whatever it is,
and leave you in peace whatever your choice.

What greater cause can you think of to join than freedom and peace, and honesty, and respect?
And love.

Ours is not some fanciful, naive, and feebleminded movement of weakness and wishes.
We know we have to work.
We know we have to understand reality and work in harmony with it.
We do not expect something from nothing.
But we do not expect nothing in exchange for our something either.
Those who offer us nothing in exchange for our effort,
we simply leave in peace.
And we welcome you at any time if you wish to offer us something instead of nothing in the future.

Our pursuit is happiness, sustainability, and love.
Don’t laugh.
That should be every person’s pursuit, should it not?
Look deep within your self.
Is that not what you want too?
We can find it,
together,
in peace.

Signed,

Tomer Strolight

Please add your signature too if you you feel the same.