Dear Dirty America

DDA
in the auto body shop

A young man with a tattoo on his arm saying LIVE FREE WITH GREEN TEA rear ended me as I was yielding before merging onto the main highway.

It was early afternoon and there weren’t many cars on the road. The two behind us politely pulled around us and sped off.

At first I worried the young man was one of those wild Midwestern types who liked to brawl, and I pictured myself trampled under his work boots, with the metal tips of his untied laces stinging my cheeks as he stomped me to death while I insisted with my last few breaths that it was his fault and that nobody should get it twisted.

But all he did was say, Damn man, this is just my day today.

Well me too, I thought. Mine’s just starting to look up. But when I saw his tattoo, I felt better to be in the company of a tea drinker.

50 WHAT?

In the park alongside us was an old couple sharing McDonalds on a bench. Two road ragers, they were probably thinking, ready to brawl, and they had front row seats.

So what are we going to do about this? he asked.

I’ll need your insurance, and I’ll give you mine, I said.

Is that even necessary? I mean, come on. He pointed at my bumper. I don’t see any real damage.

There was a scrape and the right corner looked like it had been punched in by a metal fist. I kind of stared at the damage for a moment.

Just let me pay you for it, he said. I don’t need more hassle with my insurance. Fifty bucks. How’s that sound?

SILVER // GOLD // & X…R…P…?

I don’t want fiat, I said. What are we, living in the 90s? Don’t you know the government’s been rolling out hundred dollar bills faster than Charmin and Downey can roll out toilet paper. It’ll be fifty bucks for a sandwich soon.

I suppose you’re going to try and squeeze the hell out of me for this, huh?

I like silver and gold, I said. Something with real value.

How about bitcoin? You take bitcoin?

It’s better than fiat, I agreed. If you’ve got all day to wait for it.

NOT THE CHOSEN ONE

It’s going to take down the banks, he said, glancing off as if he were seeing that very reality happening. It’s going to take down the corrupt financial system.

I let out a long, egregious puff of air. Bitcoin’s not the one! I said. The governments will roll out their tanks and bring out the guns before they let their monetary system go down.

By the look on his face, he didn’t believe me.

And like anyone’s actually going to use bitcoin. It only takes half a morning to send it somewhere, and then you pay half the price in miner fees.

I never sent it before, he said. I’m a hodler.

It ain’t much for utility, that’s for sure, I told him. It’s slow. It’s expensive. It was a test run to get people adapted to digital currency. It is being used to soak up some of the inflation that’s happening and still coming, and then they’ll tax the hell out of it because of global warming.

FRUSTRATION BUBBLES OVER…

So what’s the solution then, man? Just stick with the corruption? Let them run over us.

Walk beside the big boys! I said. Do what the bankers do!

He was shaking his head.

Swim with the whales! I shouted.

Bottom line is this, I said. If you can’t swing giving me silver, then I want XRP. The greatest digital currency ever made. It delivers in about three seconds, and it costs maybe a penny to send it. It’s the greatest digital asset ever created.

Some major banks across the world are already using it to settle payments, and the rest will very soon. XRP’s poised to be the major world currency, even if you don’t know it, it’ll run everything behind the scenes, kind of like the dollar now. The Central Bank Digital Currencies will be settled by XRP. It’s all about interoperability! I said loudly, trying to get through to him.

Get in now. Buy up every XRP you can while it’s still cheap, because when the doors on the rocket close, that’s it. You’ll be left behind.

The young man was rubbing his arms, as if it were cold outside. But I was just getting warmed up.

They’re going to reset everything, I said. The financial system. The internet. Private property. You’ll need gold, silver, and XRP to escape the tyranny that’s–

What are you going to do if I drive off right now? he said.

Take a picture of your car, I told him. I reached for my phone. Let me do that now.

He got into his car, cranked the wheel, and sped away.

I could’ve been upset.
I could’ve chased him.
But I did nothing but decide to forgive him.

Forgiveness, I figured, is worth more than silver and gold. It is sound currency for the next life.

[Header photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels]