Deeply Admiring this Martyr

 What is the heart of how society functions? Information. The several interwebs and connections of all information are what bring society and humanity together as a whole. Aaron Swartz took the heart of how society functions, and held it to the utmost importance that it deserved to be considered.

As usual, I was scrolling through my favorite and lovely social-media platform X. I came across a post by the user @bilawalsidhu about a man who was passionate about free and open access to information. This man's name was Aaron Swartz, also one of the co-founders of the well-known social news and entertainment site called Reddit.

After reading through this post, I naturally became very curious about his history and contributions to the world of computers and culture, so I scoured the internet for more information about him. Eventually, I found myself on an article that was over 11 years old from The Guardian.

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I instantly felt a connection to Aaron Swartz's mission and dedication to the freedom of information. Growing up surrounded by technology, I have always taken note of allthe  different types of uses of technology, data, and information. Obviously, if you are familiar with my work at all, I have shown a strong passion for the field of information freedom through my multimedia and art. Go listen to my latest album if you haven't already; you might find a plethora of encrypted information leaks that should be essential to know as a society. I have always used art as a tool of resistance, and it was really interesting to learn about how Aaron Swartz approached the topic of information freedom and advocacy around the topic.

I deeply admire Swartz's commitment to making information freely accessible, especially through his attempt to download and expose JSTOR articles. I truly resonate with his efforts and appreciate the fact that he was brave enough to challenge the grip that corporations seem to have on information. Sure, he might have steered out of typical regulatory lines, but it was for what we believe to be the greater good of society and knowledge.

Something that I was absolutely appalled by was the intense, severe legal repercussions that Swartz was going to face. The potential of facing decades in prison simply due to his desire to free information is ridiculous to me. Swartz cared about society, and he had a good heart. This punishment was absolutely disproportionate to the 'crime' that corporations tried to label him for. This is such a clear example of how the powerful, the wealthy, and the legal/justice systems are capable of being so heavily intertwined, ultimately protecting one another against all outside forces. Despite the potential fear that Swartz might have faced in his fight for information freedom, he went through with his statements and actions anyway, and for that, I will continue to admire him.

Aaron Swartz is currently known to be a martyr for internet freedom. This is something I would like to show the utmost respect for. Despite all the years that have passed since his incident, he continues to inspire and motivate, especially in the topic of information freedom, which is still being fought for. The fight is not over.

In the end, the fight for information freedom involves a fight of power, access, and society. In order to shape a world of free knowledge, there is much more effort and a long fight ahead. I will continue to do what I can through my art and through my works of exposing classified information through my music and art, while also keeping in mind those that we lost in this fight. Again, information is the heart of society; it's the heart of our future. Let's not allow it to flatline.