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| An American Hero |
On Jan 11, 2013, a bright light burned out. Aaron Swartz was not only a prodigy. He was a genius with technical skills and articulated political thoughts. But more importantly, he was a thoroughly good person. Many who were touched by his life noted that he was always so willing to help people. “What can I do? I can build it. I can solve it. I can make it possible”. All of his work was based on that simple yet extraordinary generous heart.
This "canary", one of the finest examples of American youth, died while fighting against a core value of US capitalist society--property rights. Aaron was one of the key leaders of the victory over internet censorship which would have given the government the right to shut down sites that infringed on information commodities.
The open internet has been embraced by nearly two generations of youth who have seen the incredible potential of the internet to connect people with each other, with ideas, with knowledge, all of which could vastly enrich their lives. Also, maybe because of their youth they were not fully indoctrinated in capitalist values and concepts, especially the core concept of private property which is the foundation of capitalism. And, the more private property the better to feed the appetites of wolf-like, predatory creatures called capitalists who created a system that would transform everything into a commodities to be bought, owned, and sold for profits. Even money became a commodity which they (the privately owned "Federal Reserve") lend to the larger society--with interest, of course.
The system was created by, and for, this tiny minority who could see its potential to force the rest of mankind to work for them. Their system was never designed to serve society, but only a small segment, their segment, who "owned" the implements of production and thus "owned" everything that was produced.
The defeat, so far, of these censorship bills represents a rare grassroots victory won in the halls of Congress owned and controlled by the ruling capitalist class. Obviously, he became their target along with class warriors like Bradley Manning who dared to challenge this class's right to commit war crimes with impunity. We, the people, simply must carry on their fight and support such dissidents against the backlash of an angry, vindictive ruling class.