Nobel-ity

May 23, 2011

This was not a typical week.

Wednesday I photographed President Barack Obama boarding Air Force One out of Connecticut.

Thursday, a press conference with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Given that both men have been awarded the Nobel peace prize, and given that I have been exploring the idea of peace and photojournalism, I wanted to make these assignments matter.

That was a lot of pressure also given that the world had been predicted to end Saturday.

It is now Sunday night, here is what Tutu said about the media during his press conference:

"I have a great deal of time for young people. I have often been upset with the media who have tended to take the case of a young person who goes astray. And they splash it as if it was representative of all young people.

I have been to a number of poor countries and it has been heart-warming to see, what in your case is say, members of the Peace Corps. Young Americans working in remote isolated villages helping to build classrooms, helping to build clinics. And I say to the media why don't you tell us a little more about these incredible young people?

When I was growing up the only drug you had was marijuana. Today you have a whole range of really hard drugs with unscrupulous drug pushers. 

What should surprise us is not that some young people go astray, when you think of the high pressure advertising to which they are exposed. 

We didn't have television. We didn't have internet and all of that stuff. I gather, I don't know, but I gather there are some quite extraordinary things you can access there.

Isn't it amazing, that given all of these pleasures, not more young people, in fact, succumb. We should be saying, "Isn't it fantastic that only a few?"

Young people are incredible. They are amazingly idealistic. They really do dream that this world is capable of being a better world. 

And for us oldies: The thing that I usually say to young people is for goodness sake don't allow yourself to be infected by the cynicism of oldies. Dream. Dream that this world can become better."

Thank you for reading, have a good week.