Why are Veterans so Attracted to Bitcoin?

OpinionThe Constitution was the code that enabled the protocol of America and Land of the Free — and Bitcoin is built upon this freedom. Author: Luke GroomPublish date :Nov 11, 2022. Luke Groom is a West Point grad, Army Engineer Officer, JD/MBA Candidate from Northwestern, and part-time strategy associate at Marathon Digital Holdingss. His views do not reflect the opinions of any of his organizations. U.S military service members are sometimes viewed with suspicion within the Bitcoin community. I don’t know why this suspicion exists. Perhaps the libertarian elements in the community are against Big Government. Perhaps Left-leaning elements of the community are opposed to things that remind them about guns and violence. Some people believe we are trying to infiltrate the Bitcoin ranks to further the Military Industrial Complex’s interests. I cannot speculate. The transition from servicemember to Bitcoiner seems obvious to me. Three reasons are freedom, responsibility, and code. Because they are both military service members and veterans, I will use the terms “military service personnel” and “veterans” interchangeably throughout. This is because the key value that Bitcoin promotes is the one that drives many young people to join the military. If you ask people why they choose to serve in the military and then continue to probe their answers, it is almost always a desire for liberty and freedom. Bitcoin is freedom money at its core. It is debaseable, free of political influence, free of seigniorage and free form manipulation. People join the military because they believe in liberty. They value free markets. They want to fight for the “Land of the Free.” Although actual results may differ, the desire is there. Consider that fiat money accounts for at least half of all transactions. This means that we don’t have a market for money, but we don’t even have a market for anything. Imagine the despair of a veteran who has spent their life fighting for freedom only to discover that we live in a manipulated, unfree market world. They then learn about Bitcoin. Being a Bitcoiner means that you vote with your energy for free markets and all the freedoms that Bitcoin represents. They understand that if they invest their energy in Bitcoin, regardless of whether their purchasing power goes down or up, they are fighting for freedom just as their inspiration to join military service. The military is great at teaching responsibility to young people. Get up. Make sure you get up. Exercise. Get to work. Wear the right clothes. Be punctual. Be reliable. Be reliable. Lead. Follow. Take care of your friends. You may need to let go of the training wheels. You want to be able to take responsibility for yourself without anyone watching. You want more options for your retirement investments than just five. You want to shout, “I’m a peacock! You gotta let me fly!” Bitcoin supports that desire. You must do your own research. You must take full responsibility for custody (or for counterparty risk). Accept the volatility of its conversion rate to fiat. There is no safety net in Bitcoin, and that freedom for many Veterans is liberating. Every Veteran swears an oath of support and defense of the Constitution of the United States. I have a greater appreciation for the Constitution as a result of my law school experience. We live in a highly polarized country. I have lived in many of those countries firsthand, including New York, Chicago, Missouri, North Carolina, North Carolina, Washington, and New York. I have lived in the city, in the suburbs, and in small towns. I have worked with millionaires as well as people who don’t have a name. I’ve had meals with people who lost their friends overseas, and people who protested at Army bases. Our citizens are very different. They look, sound and value different things. What is the country’s glue? With so many citizens, how can it be held together? I would argue that the Constitution is what holds this country together and defines us as a nation. The Constitution is less that 5,000 words of code. It is this code that created the protocol that is the United States of America. Since then, we have seen that code soft forked through amendments to the Constitution. In a similar fashion to how layers of Bitcoin are being added to that code, we have seen layer after layer of government constructed on top of it. Some might argue that the code has been ignored or misinterpreted beyond recognition. This code is the core of our country. Every service member swears that he will support and defend the Constitution, not a man or a military industrial complex. Veterans who have sworn to give their lives for one code are ready to embrace code-based money. Preston Pysh and Anthony Pompliano, thank you. Without you two, I might still think that Bitcoin was “probably nothing”. Happy Veterans Day. This is Luke Groom’s guest post. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.Tagsterms:ConstitutionHolidayUS military