WHY?!?!?!?!

Because I want my children and grandchildren to live in a better world than the one I was given, and I want better people to live in it.

So what does that have to do with walking and bitcoin?  In my twisted little head, a lot.

Berkely Breathed's Bloom County

I am about to turn 46.  Possibly mid-life crisis time.  Possibly disillusionment.  Possibly frustration.  Possibly all of the above.

I am in an idealist in a selfish, self-absorbed, and narcissistic society.  I fell in that gap in between the Boomers and GenX and am neither one.  My formative years were framed by the moon landing and Star Trek on one side, assassinations and Watergate on the other.

Such promise and potential wasted.  Instead we got Disco, Miami Vice and a culture of excesses that we continue to pay for.  Even worse, some of the worst aspects and attitudes from that era live on.

And the talk.  So much talking that nothing gets done.  The 60s had the protests and the marches and what did we get?  Occupy.  Well-intentioned, but fundamentally flawed and a let-down beyond measure.

I'm jaded.  I know I am.  In year after year of war after war, of propaganda that masquerades as news, of watching person after person choose personal advantage over higher ideals, I am just sick to death of it.

I want to believe again.

Let's put aside the wonderful technologies and possibilities of the Bitcoin protocols and what bitcoins can do for the world.  Instead, look at the people.  The people involved in bitcoin are making things happen.  Are reaching out to each other in incredible ways.  They are producing new ways of thinking, of caring, of business.

So I want to walk.  I want to spend time with myself, but also meet many people who whether they know it or not, whether they will ever know it are shaping the future and bestowing hope.

This journey for me represents a bridge.  A bridge between what was and what should have been, and what could, can, and should be.  It is a rite of passage that leaves the old where it should remain and gives birth to the new from its ashes.

You, the reader, and you the bitcoin community show me hope.

So I want to walk toward that future where my children and theirs will have that better world.

That's why.

Walking is free, man

I told some people on an exchange chat room about the walk today.  There wasn't much feedback, but then I didn't expect much.  The group that frequent this site are mostly traders and miners.  What little social commentary is posted is usually the utopian, 'won't it be great once everyone is using Bitcoin and fiat currency is a thing of the past' variety.

One comment from a guy on the forum that I like and tend to respect was, "Walking is free, man."

Well, it is.  Kind of.  If my goal was simply to walk this blog wouldn't be here and I wouldn't expect anyone to care about it.

I have my personal reasons and goals for the walk.  I am upfront about that.

When it comes to Bitcoin, or any alternative currency, it isn't worth much if it isn't used.  There have to be people spending it, AND the businesses that take it.

With bank services, that is an easy thing.  The bank hires sales people to push its new merchant services.  They convince business owners to use those services, and the fees make the bank money.  That is how credit and debit card services became widespread and why different companies compete for the lowest fees.

Now there are companies like Coinbase and Bitpay that are doing that, and the more businesses they convince, the more bitcoin gets exchanged, driving the value up.  For the most part though, the word isn't going to be spread by salesmen out to make money for the bank.  The word is going to be spread by you and me.

Most of the people in the mainstream don't know what Bitcoin is, and most of the information out there lately has been doom and gloom, MtGox, 'Bitcoin=terrorism and crime' type of misinformation that we expect from the press.

I want to change that.  Sitting here blogging will only convince the converted.  If a nice, friendly guy comes walking in from the highway talking about Bitcoin and asking to use it comes in, that may change a few minds, and more people may use it.  If a bunch of friendly people get together for the purpose of promoting Bitcoin, that changes the image.

I love to walk and want to do long distances.  I love Bitcoin and its future and want to promote it.  The two go together in this.  I'm backing my belief with action.  Putting my money where my mouth is... or would that be Bitcoin where my feet are?

I'm asking others to help and support this project because I believe in it enough to walk over 1,500 miles.  I hope others believe in it enough to help.