Social Justice

The events surrounding the elections in Iran these past couple of weeks really have me thinking.

I think about my own preconceptions about Iran, formed by believing what has been poured forth in the news media in recent years. I am amazed that such a great number of the Iranian people are marching and fighting for freedom and justice. Who would have thought that this election in Iran would reveal the same courage and thirst for change that our own election brought less than a year ago? We are very much alike.

I also can't help but think that if these actions are in some part inspired by the change in philosophy and administration of our American government. If so, Barack Obama, by sheer inspiration, has done more to bring democracy to the middle east than years of warring and a trillion dollars will ever bring.

When I step away from the computer, the news, my phone and all the worldly information brought by modern living, I look for signs of social justice in my city and my neighborhood. Just a block away from my home, Larry and Beverly Newman protest quietly every Saturday, in every form of weather. They are humble and they are diligent. Humility and diligence are waning in America, replaced by self-consumption and addiction to immediacy. Is the current recession enough for us to regain our sense of humility as a people and become diligent and ethical in business and social responsibility? I fear that it is not - not in the way that 9/11 briefly unified us as a people.

I have been photographing the Newmans and will continue to do so as long as they stand quietly every Saturday morning for their deep belief in social justice.