On Ideological (And Technological) Purity

Photo by Nadine E on Unsplash

I’ve written a few words lately about trying to shift away from U.S. tech dominance. I want to buy European/Canadian, support independent software over big tech, and move toward a digital life that aligns with my ethics. I want to question as much as I can and test my values.

It’s been a long-term project, and it started with deleting Twitter back when Musk took over. I switched from Substack to Ghost and ate the fees. I deleted my book, Permissionless because it no longer fits my beliefs. I’m choosing discomfort over hypocrisy. I want to be able to look at my choices and say: Yes, this is who I am.

But here’s where it gets tricky.

I still have an iPhone.

I still watch Netflix.

I still use Threads.

And that dissonance leaves me with a thought scratching at the back of my mind.

Does it make me a bad person?

Does it make me a hypocrite if I’m not all in right now?

And if I let those things slide, what else can I let slide?

If my domain name is still hosted by GoDaddy, is that a violation of my morals? If I read a Substack newsletter, am I complicit? If I search on Google, am I part of the problem? Can I still use DuckDuckGo, or is any American…