Giving thanks for what?

I guess I'm supposed to get behind this whole "Thanksgiving" gig and relent to it being some sort of family style pseudo-religious holiday where commercialism is tossed out the window and we are left with what is supposed to be a pure holiday, devoid of crass association with anything capitalistic.

Phooey.

Thanksgiving, for all its alleged non-biased glory, is yet another corrupted holiday.  Families all over America have just finished gorging themselves over a kitchen full of food.  They have collectively fallen asleep over a television full of football and are secretly planning their assault on "Black Friday" sales at their local shopping mall.

And if I see one more reference to tryptophan and its sleep-inducing effect I'm going to strangle someone.  There  is more tryptophan in cottage cheese than in turkey.  You want to sleep because you eat an ungodly amount of food.  The turkey isn't your problem.  You are.

Is it necessary to cook a 20-pound turkey, stuff it with bread and serve it with accompanying casseroles, sauces and pies?  What are we really honoring?  Are we giving thanks or just cooking a huge meal?  As I watch news stories of families celebrating their holiday I think about the gorging that goes on and wonder if it's all necessary.  If the idea is that we are celebrating something with our family, why do we need to cook more food than would feed a batallion?  To me, it seems a waste and regardless of your ideals, I think you're feeding into (pun) the idea of mass consumerism that you profess to hate.

There, I said it.