I feel your pain. Unfortunately Steem seems to have moved on for where its founding fathers left it. Content is not king, not even a court jester. The Blockchain has unfortunately become a mining rig in a race for the bottom. There I said it!
Sometimes I wish I could lower my standards and ethics and go buy some votes but the most I've convinced myself to do is give myself a sneaky self-vote on my posts every now and again.
I really thought that if I was the change I wanted to see in Steem then things would start moving in that direction but, No. Content is nowhere within the castle walls.
Maybe things will change or maybe a new castle needs to be built.
Vent over. I Still love Steem.