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# Aaron's army
- URL: https://werd.io/aarons-army/
- Published: 2013-01-25T07:39:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-12T11:00:37.000Z
- Author: Ben Werdmuller
- Tags: Politics, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, Web, aaron swartz, democracy, equality, freedom, freedom of information, freedom of speech, open web, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52

[This speech](https://public.resource.org/aaron/army/), in honor of Aaron Swartz, pretty much sums up why I work on the web. This is why it's worthwhile.

> He was part of an army of citizens that rejects kings and generals and believes in rough consensus and running code.  
>  
> \[...\] Aaron Swartz was not a criminal, he was a citizen, and he was a brave soldier in a war which continues today, a war in which corrupt and venal profiteers try to steal and hoard and starve our public domain for their own private gain.

[Read the full text of the speech over here.](https://public.resource.org/aaron/army/) It was given as part of [a memorial for Aaron Swartz at the Internet Archive tonight](http://blog.archive.org/2013/01/15/memorial-for-aaron-swartz/).