America exuberates such pride when it comes to advertising our country. It's the land where anything really seems possible, that when you come here, all of your dreams will be fulfilled.

Maybe I'm slightly over exaggerating, but my point is that we have overdone ourselves in the publicizing department. We have been fooling ourselves, because we know that not everything about this country is perfect. I do love America, but I feel like industries throughout the world have taken the things we have for granted, and have been living life selfishly. We're the land of wealth, or at least that's how people in the world view America. That's how it's always really been. Still, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. We're lying to ourselves. We're existing narcissistically and materialistically, and it's foolish.

Sure, most of us residing in America can eat a meal every day, unlike someone who lives in Haiti, but we don't always appreciate that. A child in a foreign country who is starving would kill for something like that. But alas, we forget about what's truly important. We forget to appreciate what we have, and we want to selfishly further ourselves for money and tangible things - things that are attainable to us right away. Are we really actually thinking about our health? Our wellness? Our people? Or is it for the money? Even the people in other countries? With what we are doing, we effect them as well. Sometimes, I'm embarrassed be a part of it all.

But here we are, not seeming to really care because we are still taking part in all of this active, dangerous industries that are hurting everything around us... right in front of our very eyes. And sometimes, we just don't see it.

I'm not a pro when it comes to politics and all that historical stuff, but these are a few things that I have been interested in as of late, and I want to learn more about. I know I still have a lot to understand and there is a whole, whole list of things that aren't right with the world, but I want to take it one step at a time when educating myself. As of right now, the two things that concern me the most are the food industry and the fashion and clothing industry. I know it sounds light and fluffy, but the two areas truly play a ginormous role in our country and in our world. Mainly because food and clothing are two main sources in our lives.

Food has always been a popular topic when discussing issues in America. But there is a specific reason for that: it's an addiction, and makes the world go round because it's such a money infesting industry. People love food, and people love how food tastes. However, it's natural for a typical person to buy something that is cheap and delicious... but underneath all of that tasty flavor, lays a scary truth: what exactly is in the item that you are consuming?

There have been documentaries after documentaries about food and how unhealthy and not safe it can be. "Food Inc.," "Super Size Me," and "Fed Up" are just a few examples that truly hit home for me. America is all about happiness, but it seems as though we are labeling a (number) calorie burger from McDonalds with happiness. Ironically enough, that's not how you will be feeling after digesting something like that until you become obese or just incredibly unhealthy. What really bothers me is that industries don't care about people's health. They claim that they want children to lead healthy lives, but oddly enough, advertise a happy meal for them. They put apple slices in kids' Happy Meals and commercialize how kids should be getting more active, but yet they serve all this fake food. I think that's just a way to say "Hey, we aren't completely bad. We are technically selling healthy items."

But then again, the gross food at their fast food restaurants outweighs the good, and it's just a tactic to blind the costumers and get away with it. I know that's kind of stretch, but it's plausible. An example is Ronald McDonald. They associate the mascot clown for McDonald's with happiness and a good life, a life that is attractive and desirable for people of all ages -- especially children. That obviously attracts individuals, and the way that they market their food. That's another huge thing. Of course it looks delicious, but again, it's harmful in the end. If America really cared about people's lifestyle and their health, they wouldn't be cramming so much unhealthy food down our throats (figuratively and literally).

And how did we get like this? Well, there is one answer: money. People don't care about anything but money, and that is why I am writing about this, and why I think America needs to get their priorities straight. Is the concept of money more important than life threatening food items? I know this is kind of intense, but imagine you're working for big food chains, like Taco Bell or Culvers, and you're sitting at your desk every day racking in all the money in the world, even knowing that you could be causing a child to develop diabetes with your food. I know, I know. A little crazy to say, but in the end that's what it really is. That is the big picture. And that's what I am saying. I'm beyond terrified with what is going to happen if more and more fattening, unhealthy, sugary foods are advertised and consumed in our world. What's going to happen? What's going to happen to the human race? And I'll be completely honest: I am a victim of this. We all can easily get sucked into, which is scarier than ever.

It is, however, okay to eat fattening and sugary foods in moderation. I mean, it is good. But when it's plastered every where, all the time, it's terrifying. Again, it's the money issue. So. Think about it. Money over health? Priorities, priorities...

There is another aspect that has been bothering me a lot. It's always been something that I never agreed with, being such an animal lover, but as of late I have realized that it really upsets me immensely. And that is putting innocent animal's lives on the line for the sake of the fashion industry. Who cares about Gucci? Who cares about Prada? Who cares about all those high end name brand fashion labels that make the world go round and round for high end models with flourishing careers, and selfish, self centered people who walk down a run away showing off something that was murdered heartlessly?

I don't care if I am offending anyone who is reading this. Don't get me wrong: I absolutely love clothing and fashion! But I don't believe in murdering poor, innocent creatures with beating hearts in a disgusting fashion, just for "looking good," and I am not a person who partakes in wearing fur, or purchasing $500 purses made from alligator leather. The fact that people go to work at factory farms every day killing and mutilating animals in inhumane ways so that people can materialize them later, appalls and disturbs me.

This is something else that America needs to realize. Is this a priority that comes before life?? I don't think so. I don't care if animals don't talk, and I don't care if there are individuals out there who think that animals are less than human on the totem pole. That doesn't make them any less than us. Animals feel like us. Animals are living, breathing things that have emotions. Maybe not in the same way as humans, but there are some very intelligent creatures who are being slaughtered for money. So think about this one. Is it all really worth it in the end? I personally don't think it is. These animals have done nothing wrong, and we are taking advantage of their existence just so we can be selfish and egocentric.

Wake up and realize that we need to take better care of our animals, and put an end to the murder of alligators and crocodiles (for example). So many alligators and crocodiles are murdered and mutilated when they are just three years old. What the workers do, is lay them on a table and smash a hard metal object into their brains, and twist it around until they die. Meanwhile, the poor creature is just laying on the table, taking it all in -- all of the pain and suffering. And for what? For a damn Hermes bag? For a coat? It's all for luxury. Sometimes, alligators and crocodiles are repeatedly shot in the head with a captive bolt-gun, or stab them to dislocate their vertebrae, and some managers have admitted that some live even after that. How horrible. I watched a video from PETA about how people kill the crocodiles and alligators. It was gruesome and very graphic, and I couldn't finish watching because I was too upset and I was crying. I saw how the workers put still living and in pain alligators and crocodiles in bloody ice bins several minutes after attempted slaughter. It was very depressing, and it made me feel, once again, ashamed to be apart of this human race -- the kind that does these sort of things for luxury.

I know that not everyone is like this in the world, obviously. Otherwise, we wouldn't have amazing things like PETA, and people who stand up for animal rights. But still, factory farms are becoming so prominent that I can't help but wonder some things. Other animals, such as pigs, baby chicks and cows are abused in sickening fashion. Pigs are beaten, kicked, pushed. Baby chicks go through a process called "chick culling," in which the industry has no use. That is understandable, but the way that they are murdered is sick. Some methods are cervical dislocation, asphyxiation and maceration using a high speed grinder. I could go on, and on.

I know that from the beginning of time, animals were put here so that we could survive off of them. I understand that aspect, but since machinery has progressed, and time has continued, it seems as though we are taking advantage of what we have and use them to abuse poor animals. It's when you start abusing and mutilating these creatures and letting them suffer that is messed up. It's unacceptable, and it needs to end. Now.

Animals need to be loved...

So that's it. I mean, for right now, anyway. These are the two topics in specific that have been infuriating me for the past couple of years, but now have flared up the past couple of months, weeks. I'm looking back at America right now and I am questioning whether or not we truly are the wonderful land that we claim ourselves to be. Are we just fooling ourselves? Are we just masking the filth that we have submersed our country in just so we can continue to bring in the big bucks? It's not worth it, honestly. It's not. I hope that things can change, because risking the lives of people and of animals for dollar bills, "success" and a "good life" isn't really a good life at all.

Think about these things. I know I won't stop thinking about them.