The core belief of cypherpunks: privacy isn't something anyone should expect to receive as a gift from governments, mega-corporations, or massive institutions. If you truly want privacy, you've got to build it yourself. As Eric Hughes famously put it, those seeking digital freedom can't sit around waiting for permission—they need to take matters into their own hands. This philosophy forms the bedrock of why cryptography and decentralized systems exist in the first place. It's less about distrust and more about recognizing reality: large organizations rarely grant freedoms voluntarily. The burden and the power rest on the individual.