jimmyt, I think you nailed it. Too many Americans are too willing to sacrifice well-being for material. And to tell you the truth, I think an awful lot of that material is totally unnecessary, or so shoddily made that it isn't even worth the effort of carrying it home.

Some people do consciously choose to live more simply with less waste and clutter, though. Not sure where the engine of this whole consumption machine lives. Perhaps figuring that out could be a start of a quiet social revolution. And those can't be fought with any Patriot Act-type laws or enforcement!