The Cost of Knowledge

Updated Tuesday, January 15, 2013

As people paid their respects outside the synagogue, I ducked into the red-brick building to escape the chilled Chicago winter air. Inside, grief hung heavy in the crowded room. The sting hit the back of my eyes as I was engulfed by flowers surrounding the hall. I looked around at family, friends, collaborators, fellow internet pioneers, and admirers gathered at the Central Avenue Synagogue in Highland Park, Illinois, on January 15, to pay their respects and say their last goodbyes to Aaron Swartz. The synagogue overflowed with mourners honoring the 26-year-old internet activist who took his own life the prior week.

With a scrunched Kleenex already in hand, I looked around as emotional waves pulsed through the room. Everyone seemed to seek support for those they believed were their fallen soldier. Toward the front of the hall, in a cherry wood casket, lay Aaron. I wondered: does he lie in peace, or is he looking down at us, hoping we will all ignite the same fire of his life’s pursuit to see it through?

Those in attendance heard tributes to Aaron, praise for his life’s ambition, and sharp criticism of the U.S. government’s role in his death.

Just after Aaron’s death, his family released the following official statement:

“Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s Office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying a potential of over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.”

Two themes recurred throughout the service: Aaron’s brilliance as an Internet activist and the claim that the government was responsible for his death.

A dark-blonde woman with heartbreak in her eyes reached the podium. Clearing her throat, she rose above the murmurs with a voice thick with grief. Aaron’s partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Jauffman, spoke: “Aaron wanted so badly to change the world - more than money, more than fame. … He believed you had to see the world the way it really is in order to change it.” Taren also shared, “Aaron used to say, when something is hard, you have to lean into the pain, because when it’s hard, it’s important,” Stinebrickner-Kauffman, her strong voice breaking on the truth. “I think he finally fell into the pain.”

Beyond friends and colleagues, Aaron’s family shared his accomplishments, including his vision to make information accessible, his role in developing RSS feeds, co-founding Reddit, and founding Demand Progress to promote Internet freedom. Even Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, was in attendance.

One friend, Ben Wikler, shared, “Aaron was the rare activist who was not also idealistic. He approached activism like a social scientist. He had this impish, gleeful sense of joy and excitement. He was so good at solving big problems and so bad at solving the ones in his own life.” Ben continued, choking back tears: “For someone with such a clear vision, his one blind spot was how much he mattered.”

As a man with salt-and-pepper hair, a dark suit, and glasses reached the podium, a quiet hush crossed the hall. He stood with a fierceness in his stance, stronger than the grief that lined his face. None spoke more passionately than his father, Robert Swartz, who delivered a fierce eulogy: “Aaron did not commit suicide — the government killed him. Someone who made the world a better place was pushed to his death by the government.” Robert continued to describe Aaron’s principled, open-access activism alongside the “criminality” of the financial system and criticized the U.S. Attorney’s Office for pursuing what he called a “victimless crime” with a potential 35-year prison sentence.

Few remember these days of Aaron’s ultimate sacrifice. As the memory fades, we are left with his legacy: online intellectual freedom.

What did Aaron do to warrant such an intense prison sentence? To answer that, we must trace his path.

Aaron’s life purpose still echoes through us every time we look for information just out of reach. Not because it doesn’t exist, but because we are not privileged to receive that power. To understand his contribution, understand his journey.

This story is not just about his death; it is about what hope feels like and why his legacy still matters. It begins with his life.

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