Money Funneled to Protection of Software Freedom, But Nothing Really Lost
Crossposted from personal site
Someone recently asked me about devoting money to Software Freedom causes so as to focus on what is right, what one is "meant" to do as it is better devoting one's capacity/potential/knowledge/energy/experience/recognition to maximise public good. It makes perfect sense because life is finite and money does not go into one's grave. It is meant to be used for something, not to be hoarded. Hoarding is in human's nature and it is a weakness, nothing to be boastful about.
I am thankful and truly grateful for the fact that my life is rewarding and satisfying, with few exceptions here and there (not every moment is perfect). Vices and online additions are not necessary. Compared to peers and relatives, my life is good, it's better than theirs. I am happier, freer (as in free will), healthier, and richer (except in monetary terms) than them. Some people I know became slaves to (or of) money - to the point of being willing to work from every morning until every night (maybe 60-80 hours a week) to make someone else or some large company richer. They seem to fail to grasp that those salaries are merely a form of compensation for them compromising their best years (of one's life), plus abandoning the prospect/potential for self-determination while dragging down both physical and mental health (of most staff, most of the time). It's a fast-corroding, slowly-progressing experience (corrosion is silent, not sudden) that over time shortens people's lives. In my 40s I can still do a fullstack circuit" at the gym like I did my in 20s. I have hardly lost muscle mass/weight, only relative strength, and my stamina probably improved owing to regular jogging.
Ultra-capitalists dislike such ideas because they rely on intellectual people becoming their de facto slaves and brown-nosing management for pay increases and better job titles (the latter are merely symbolic rewards, a fake "status" nobody objectively cares about).
Safety and mental comfort (calm, zen) cannot be taken for granted either, more so in world full of conflicts and scarcities. To love and be loved is easier said than done, but that too is attainable. One must actively pursue it, not follow herds. █