It sounds like you're letting the nay-sayers bring you down. Stay Strong!
I feel like this is the problem with society today .. We're all (myself included) caught up in a world where we don't want to push back against opposing forces too hard because we don't want to deal with the aftermath of it. Instead, we bend our own personal beliefs to give the less-informed and less-willing-to-think the ability to have their way through compromise on our part; without an equal amount of compromise from the other side.
I understand that the THEORY all along has been that we (Steemit) "need investors" along with the community in order to build a successful platform. I feel like this idea has been the crux of the problem on Steemit.
We never needed investors. The platform itself is built in a way such that the community can be self-supported and thrive! Investors only muddy the waters by incentivizing the tempted (read: opportunist / non-community-focused) to stray from the original purpose of Steemit.
The rewards pool is constantly paying participants on its own. Why do we need outside investment? The value of Steem / SBD comes from the free market. If people find Steem valuable, because they're using it, then the value of Steem will naturally increase due to the increased demand for it.
The intent of Steemit was to allow individuals to bootstrap themselves out of their current situation and grow into a better situation. Was the platform likely flawed to begin with? Did the rewards pool start off too big? Did the initial distribution create the incentivized situation that we have now where people find it more valuable to invest in bots than they do in the community?
I feel that it all comes down to how much those of us who are invested in the community side are willing to continue investing in the community. And I'm using the word "invested" as a personal investment, not a monetary one. Money ruins the world (which is what is keeping people down, and the reason why Steemit was started in the first place).
I'll say it again .. which you know it better than most (proven by your relentless posts and other support in the community) ..
There are no shortcuts in life!
and I'll add:
Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.
- Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield