I am an American.

Occasionally I'll get an urge to buy something, anything, for no reason whatsoever. I had this overwhelming feeling last week. It got me thinking as to why I, and many of my friends and family, get this urge to purchase items that we convince ourselves are necessary when in fact we would be just as happy without them. The answer was so simple: American consumersim. The American culture has conditioned us to buy buy buy. Every day there are hundreds of ads that charge our senses and try to convince us to buy a particular product. And somehow, a little bit of that advertisement seeps into our brains which cause us to want. I have family and friends in other parts of the world, and they don't get the same shopping urge like Americans do. I'm not complaining about the fact that I randomly want things for no reason and that American consumerism is so deeply embedded into my subconscious. Hey, if I have the expendable income that can afford me the luxury of buying what I want and at the same time help boost the economy, I'm all for it. But I do not condone purchasing items you don't need, putting it on your credit card, and piling mounds of debt. Now that's not helping anyone.