Paid relays are centralized, yes. But that isn’t the point of the protocol, the point is you have the option to run your own relay, and host your own data. If you reach out to your friends, family, interested parties, give them your relay information, they can always follow you and read your data. If you become president, and all of your supporters follow your relay, it doesn’t matter if the paid relays stop your data from transmitting, your communications will not be prevented from reaching those who follow your relay.

The idea that centralized services are somehow evil or serve no purpose is not logical. They serve a practical purpose of connecting people who have no previous connection or interaction.