No, but having a bit of bravery to stand up for what you believe in does. I am not sure what your resume looks like, but mine does not include the kinds of positive activism displayed by Mr. Swartz.

I don't agree with him committing suicide, nor do I feel his heroism is on par with someone like Mahatma Gandhi, yet it's there, and for the people who knew him it means something.

I also have the very real knowledge that human heroes have human failings. I can't think of many heroes of the past century who haven't had scandal associated with them (JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Mickey Mantle, Ronald Reagan, among many dozens of others).

Some of my heroes, Wally Schirra and John Glenn fare better, but even they have their detractors.

Journalists like Robert Cox) and Sydney Schanberg didn't carry weapons. Neither did factory owner Oskar Schindler.

Does Mr. Swartz merit mention alongside these folks? Probably not, but I'd propose his daring to champion intellectual freedom and exposing SOPA as an over-reach into free enterprise means something to both you and I, whether or not we choose to acknowledge it.

In short, is Mr. Swartz up for canonization? Hell no. On the other hand, for those who choose to celebrate his life, I won't stand in their way or decry those who do.

To sum up my rambling, choice of heroes is a personal, subjective thing, and some people choose to have none. More power to them.

With respect, thanks much you for your opinion, which like mine, means exactly dick in the grand scheme of things. :) Hope you had a decent weekend. :)