I returned to the States the day before Thanksgiving - right at the beginning of the heaviest shopping season. Because of this, many people have welcomed me back with a laugh and comments like, "Welcome back to the land of consumption!" I always find this sort of comment funny because it implies that things are different outside our borders.

I'm sure there is somewhere where people do not consume like we do here. Okay, to be fair, as I understand it, most people don't really consume the way Americans do (certainly not when it comes to energy). But, that's not to say that mass consumption of goods - even unnecessary goods - does not take place all over the world - including in the third world. Try going to a market the weeks leading up to Eid al Fitr and you'll see what I mean.

Bangladesh is unbelievably overcrowded. But the difference between going to a market before Eid and going on a regular weekday is significant. Even going on a typical Friday afternoon is likely to be overwhelming to one used to the barren halls of American shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving. Sure, they're probably not buying $120 basketball shoes or $400 iPods, but they're still buying a lot of stuff.

Now, I'm not saying that all this buying of junk is good, but lets not pretend that we're somehow unique because of it. People like stuff. Getting people to think more about what they're buying and why is going to take a lot more than just hating Wal-Mart*. And it's a lot harder to tell people living in the third world to be content with less.

So, next time you see me, you don't have to welcome me back to the land of crass consumerism. I never left.

* That said, I do continue to hate Wal-Mart and encourage you to do the same.