NYT Columnist Thomas Friedman on Van Jones' Resignation

"When everyone has a cell phone, everyone’s a photographer. When everyone has access to YouTube, everyone’s a filmmaker. And when everyone’s a blogger, everyone’s in newspaper. When everyone’s a photographer, a newspaper and a filmmaker, everyone else is a public figure.

"Tell your kids, 'OK, be careful.' Every move they make is now a digital footprint. You are on Candid Camera. And unfortunately, the real message to young people, from all of these incidents (and I’m not here defending anything anyone said) but from all of these incidents, is really keep yourself tight, don’t say anything controversial, don’t think anything, don’t put anything in print. You know, whatever you do, just kind of smooth out all the edges, and maybe you too—you know, when you get nominated to be ambassador to Burkina Faso—you’ll be able to get through the hearing."

Meet The Press, September 6, 2009