I VOTED!!!!!

Yup, I practiced my God-given right to vote! And it's still October! Many of you already know that you can request an absentee ballot so I went online to learn how to request mine. Seems some states, like California, will allow you to fax in your vote on an emergency write-in ballot if you promise to mail in the hard copy, and that's what I did! People do vote here in Egypt, but seems it doesn't matter much, as the same guy always wins as president. In fact, Morad says he already knows who the next president will be- the son of the present president! We hear about the continuing power dispute in Zimbabwe and we have seen burned-out villages- the result from Kenya's last election. There's also the protests in Thailand over their prime minister- someone died there! And yet, in less than two weeks America will have an election and emotions will run high. In two months the power will shift from George Bush to ... well, we'll see. Will there be anger? Will there be accusations of stuffing the ballot boxes? Probably. But will there be huge mobs of people raping and setting their neighbors homes and businesses on fire? Definitely not. This election and traveling have really made me appreciate all sorts of things that I took for granted.

And I can't believe I'm saying this, but God Bless America! I know it isn't perfect but I'm so glad my home is there. I'll admit, this song has popped into my head more than once this trip while talking to people and seeing how different their lives (the norm for that country) are. I thank goodness for Planned Parenthood, for pre-natal care, for welfare, for medicine that works, for tax dollars that really are at work, for free public education that really is free, for most kids staying in school through high school, for respecting ourselves and everyone else, for clean drinking water, for minimum wage, for a government that can change albeit slowly.

I truly believe in the American Dream. I do believe that anyone can have a good life if they are willing to work hard for it. I know we are not all created equal and that it's rigged so that the big guys stay big, but us little guys get a chance which is more than I can say for people living in some other free countries.