a rant against consumerism

Everytime I step into a mall, I want to cry. Today, I came very close. I just don't get it. Thousands of people, walking into stores, and coming out like they've found exactly what they've been looking for.
Newsflash... that eighty dollar hoodie is not going to sort out your problems. Those brand-name shoes may look cool, but they're just shoes, and they won't make walking through life any easier. That t-shirt you bought does not have the meaning of life written across the front in big bold letters.

The truth is, all I see in the eyes of people in the mall is hunger - a greed to be filled by consuming. And sure, nice new clothes will make you feel good for a while, but you'll always wind up wanting more, because they don't last. They can't satisfy you.
What I would really like to know is, when did we trade being grateful for having clothes on our backs to only being satisfied if the right name was on the front? When did a t-shirt turn into an identity, that if we wear the right one, we must have worth? Have we so quickly forgotten who values us most??

What I see most in the eyes of people in malls is unhappiness. Discontent.

I hate walking down malls, because I think of how much our money could be better spent. Do we really need what we're buying, or could we be using that money on people, people who don't go to malls. I honestly think back to the streets in Haiti, the meager markets, and I think of what these people would say if they saw how much we consume. In third world countries, markets are where people make a living, how they find a way to support their family. Here, we have taken that and mass produced it into a materialistic form of capitalism on steroids, where corporations with millions seek to make more millions.

The craziest thing is, when I went to Haiti, those people had joy in their eyes. Joy without the expensive hoodies and the brand name shoes. Joy in each other. Joy in God. Joy in life...

and you know what? I truly believe we're the poor ones.