I’ve spent the last week and a half thinking on this post and the future of my “Corndalorian” pseudonym. Allow me to just reflect a bit. I started this pseudonym on Twitter back in early 2021, as my interest in bitcoin began to grow. It was a way for me to engage with other bitcoiners, separate from my real world identity. No one that I knew in real life was into bitcoin, and in fact whenever I had tried bringing it up with friends/coworkers/family, they were completely dismissive of it. I had also grown exhausted of the putrid “left vs. right” politics on social media during the 2020 election season, and I could see that polarization continuing and even worsening with all of the Covid craziness heating up at that time.
So, creating a pseudonym was a way for me to dive in head first with my curiosity about bitcoin without the weight of my real world relationships interfering, and separate from politics (so I thought). 😂 Imagine my surprise when I realized just how much politics come into play with bitcoin because of the problems it solves.
In addition to giving me the social freedom to explore bitcoin, I also found that using a pseudonym gave me an outlet to make memes, crack jokes, and otherwise explore/express ideas, with less self-censoring than if I was using my real name. I haven’t always used that freedom well, as I have undoubtedly and admittedly said some things I later regretted—things I probably would not have said so quickly under my real name—but in the grand scheme of things, using a pseudonym has absolutely been a net positive for me. Perhaps most importantly, it has allowed me to meet and interact with some really amazing people on Twitter and now here on Nostr that I probably never would have otherwise.
So what does this all have to do with my post from last week? When I started using Nostr in 2022, I immediately saw it as a place where the rubber meets the road in regard to bitcoin and free speech. Whereas Twitter had been a place where freedom and bitcoin were talked about a lot, I found Nostr to be a place where freedom is a reality and bitcoin is a functionally integrated into the network. The freedom to speak, associate, interact, and transact on my terms is baked into the very DNA of every app on Nostr.
Since joining Nostr, I have continually wondered how I might further utilize it to express myself and connect with other likeminded people. I’m not a dev; I am a communicator. I don’t build apps; I use apps to speak. Many of you know me as a memer. (I love memes.) My fellow 2022/23 nostriches remember me as part of the once-glorious Nostr Report. A couple of you might know me as a musician. And I’m sure some of you just think I’m an asshole (haha). A few of you have truly become friends, and I cherish those connections.
In all of my time on Twitter and now here on Nostr, I have primarily focused on a narrow, albeit important, scope of topics—bitcoin and nostr. These are crucial technologies for protecting freedom, and I will continue to advocate for them, but at the end of the day they are tools for communicating and transacting with other people more freely; they are not freedom itself. They are neither the most important things in my life nor are they the essence of my worldview. My worldview is shaped and defined by, and my freedom is found only in, my belief in and relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else flows from that, and everything in my life, including Bitcoin and Nostr, exists to serve Him and His purpose or ultimately it has no value to me.
Last week when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, my conscience was jolted. I watched, as many of you did, as a man was graphically murdered for nothing more than communicating his views. I then then watched as he and his family, and anyone who spoke out against his murder, were subsequently mocked and ridiculed by people filled with so much hate that they could not bring themselves to show an ounce of sympathy and civility in the face of what had happened. I was utterly disgusted by what I was seeing, so I decided to take some time away from social media. I am saddened that the inhumanity of some continues to be displayed, but I am also not surprised. I don’t know if I agreed with Charlie Kirk on everything, but then again I don’t agree with anyone on everything, and that doesn’t matter anyway for the sake of this discussion. What I do know is that no one should be murdered for speaking about their views and beliefs, and that none of us should take for granted the freedom of speech that we enjoy, especially here on Nostr.
What I have come to realize in all this is that I am no longer content taking such a narrow focus with the things I talk about here. I’m not ready to lose the pseudonym…I’ve actually grown rather fond of The Corndalorian…but my life is about so much more than nostr and bitcoin, and it’s time I start letting that be known on here. What good, after all, is a free speech protocol if I don’t use it to speak about the things that are most important to me? I would expect no less from anyone else.
I don’t fully know what that will look like in practice. I assure you, you can still expect memes. Maybe you’ll like what I have to say, and maybe you won’t. That’s not for me to decide. It is for me to be authentic, and speak and seek truth.
Anyway, this was long. Thanks for sticking around to the end. Have a good Saturday. I’ll check in later. I have a busy day with family about to start. 💜🫂
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