Thanksgiving break: a four-day weekend to unwind with close family, friends, and the hundreds of people in line for the latest gadget at the local Best Buy. Many Americans rush through their turkey dinners with family, hastily reflecting on all that they’re thankful for, in an effort to make it to the front of the lines at Best Buy, Target or Walmart. The race to acquire more material possessions is hardly surprising in today’s consumer culture. However, the blatant dichotomy of a day dedicated to giving thanks followed by a day of consumption and greed is quite indicative of the lack of earnestness of Americans’ gratefulness.

This year, I decided to join my brother in his social experiment to observe this unbelievably gluttonous holiday from the eyes of the consumers. Standing in line at 5:30 pm, waiting for the doors of Target to open, I looked around and saw looks of selfishness and overheard conversations between people eager to get their hands on the newest Samsung TV or PS4. No longer were warm, grateful thoughts about family and friends at the forefront of these shoppers’ brains. Their priorities shifted to the acquisition of more material goods as soon as they managed to escape to their nearest retailer. At precisely 6:00 pm, the doors burst wide open and my brother and I, along with dozens of other customers, were herded into Target like a flock of sheep. With the crowd of excited shoppers inside, chaos commenced. The majority rushed to the electronics section, unsurprisingly, snatching the first discounted gaming consoles and televisions they could find. Standing afar so as not to get elbowed or trampled by the many shoppers dead-set on buying the latest commodities, I thought to myself, “How ironic is it that these people were celebrating their thankfulness just hours ago?” The biggest retailers have a knack for capitalizing on the insincerities of consumers’ gratefulness around this time of year by offering shockingly low prices on superfluous goods people do not even need. With major retailers opening as early as 6:00 pm Thursday evening, the true meaning of Thanksgiving is diminishing, while capitalism continues to dominate.