The Gluttony of America

I believe that gluttony in America is a huge problem.


Yesterday, people stuffed their faces with delicious, home cooked food. This morning (or last night, rather) we stuffed corporate America's pockets. 
Gluttony is defined as "over-indulgence and over consumption of food, drink, intoxicants or wealth items to the point of extravagance or waste." Yeah, that's America for you.
Why is that we feel the need to stuff our faces and spend millions of dollars in one day? What are we over compensating for? 
I don't have a clear answer to the first question, but the second one seems simple enough: our lives are unfulfilled. We think that a day at the mall can fix the sadness and anger that comes with a cheating husband or brand name clothing can stop a child from being bullied. Reality check- money can't fix much of anything. We can over-indulge all we want, but that won't save a starving child in Africa. We can buy our kids mountains of clothing, but that won't keep our homeless warm in the dead of winter. Theres a reason why we're the most expensive country in the world, there is a reason why America is the fattest country in the world, and I suppose there is a reason behind my ranting.
Ghandi once said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Maybe, just maybe, if we stopped stuffing our faces and didn't place ourselves inside of horrible stereotypes, this world could be (I hate to be cliche, but here it is) a better place. The choice is ours.