Right. So I forgot that thanksgiving was always on a Thursday, decided it was the 24th, and celebrated it today. So, I guess I get two thanksgivings. Or none. Or one. Depends on how you look at it and also on how tomorrow turns out :-).

Anyway, I celebrated by doing nothing all day, although that part was inadvertent. After my overnight bus I slept all day, and then, since I hadn’t eaten for the previous 24 hours, Had some Foul (it’s a food, not an adjective) with fried eggs and hummos and pita. And THEN I went all out and went to a bakery. Alex(andria) is sort of known for its cafe culture, bakeries, and relaxed vibe, and it lives up to that… though it’s been a while since I’ve seen so many women out of Hijab (there are a lot of coptics here). And I had a four dollar cake and coffee. In a country where most people live on less than 30 dollars a month, that’s pretty crazy. But I did it. And it was good. I am pretty sure it’s the first cake I’ve had since August! It was really nice.

Travel certainly makes you more acutely aware of the things that you have to be thankful for. The elections in Egypt do that, especially. Everyone knows they are rigged, and that those who support the opposition will face harassment, physical abuse, and, in come cases, indefinate detention. But brave people stand up and fight anyway, because it’s right.

For all that’s wrong with the US political system at the moment, it’s important to remember that we’ve got it pretty fucking good.

And, did you know, that if you (or your parents) make more than $30,000 US Dollars a year, you’re in the top 1% of global earners? And that average is about a thousand USD a year? It sort of makes the recession seem a bit less worth complaining about.

We’ve got a lot of work to do, a lot of reforms to fight for, and, if you’re an American, an absurd political battle to work through for at least the next four years. But we can do it. We will do it. We’ll fuck up along the way. But that’s life.

This thanksgiving (the real one), maybe it would pay for us all to remember that we are absurdly, ridiculously, privileged, and think about how to use that privilege for the good of humanity.

Andrew