Swartz was a rare breed of what I think of as real activism. Self-proclaimed activists these days have no skin in the game and don't go further than signal boosting. To really make a difference you have to get burned; most people don't have the guts.
What has been your experience working with activists in NGOs/nonprofits? I've worked with several over the past few decades and emotions certainly are part of it, but trying to change a government doesn't happen overnight. For example, when Working with HIFIVE (Haiti Integrated Financing for Value Chains and Enterprises) I found that having government support was much more effective: things happened on a schedule, same when I worked with Habitat for Humanity. However, when I worked with a local homeless shelter in my city, they were struggling due both outreach and a logistics system that was sadly inefficient b/c none of them had experience with this: the heart was there but not the experience.
I'd be eager to hear what you ran into while working in a nonprofit that turned you off due to being "too emotionally driven." Please share!