Egypt was in the news a lot this year. We watched the demonstrations and hoped that democracy might be the result. Much was made of the fact that the demonstrators used social media - just like we do. Peacefully electing their own leaders and instituting the rule of law seemed to be the logical next steps.
I visited Cairo once, in the early 90s, and a lasting memory is of the traffic. Not just the amount of it, but the sound. Every driver was enamored of his horn; every street was a cacophony of beeps. They were so persistent that they seemed to have transcended their original purpose and become something else: a desperate cry for recognition. In a city teeming with people, each beep seemed to say: "Look, it's me! I'm here! I'm alive!"
Just the way our tweets do today. Rather than Egyptians becoming like us, we have become like Egyptians.
