I Love My Amazon Prime Account. I’m Cancelling It Because I Love America More.

Without naming names, I’ve given more money to a certain political party this year than I’ve ever given before. It’s not enough.

I voted. It’s not enough.

I phone-banked. It’s not enough.

Have you wondered: What else can I do?

Have you wondered: How can I feel less helpless?

Have you wondered: What action can I take today that could possibly make a difference?

If you’re like me, you have asked yourself these questions.

I find myself in the position of doing something I never dreamed I’d be asked to do or able to do; for the first time in my life, I’m going to make a personal sacrifice for my country.

Several times every week of my life, I get packages sent to me with “free” shipping from Amazon. Every day that I keep my Amazon Prime account, I continue to make my life much easier and more convenient.

And every day I keep my Amazon Prime account I continue to enrich a powerful man who just used his power to weaken the power of the freedom of the press.

Everyone knows Jeff Bezos owns Amazon. Some may not know that Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post. The editors of The Washington Post decided to endorse a certain presidential candidate this year. Bezos, the owner of the paper, overruled them and decided The Washington Post would not endorse any presidential candidate this year.

This is the first time in 36 years that The Washington Post has not endorsed a presidential candidate. Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron made the following comment to NPR regarding the Post’s decision: "This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty... Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage."

In the 21st century, there is no person I respect more than the martyred Russian opposition leader, Navalny. (If you don’t know his first name, Google it, remember it, and repeat it. To my bro friends: if you can remember and recite the line “His name is Robert Paulson,” it’s time you remember the name of a true freedom fighter and start repeating it.)

After being poisoned and nearly killed with a nerve agent by Putin’s assassin’s, Navalny was allowed to fly to Berlin for treatment. When Navalny recovered, he had the choice to remain in comfort in exile and continue to speak out against Putin and his dictatorship. Navalny did not remain in comfort. He flew back to his home, Russia, to continue to reach and inspire the people who were opposed to Putin’s dictatorship. Not unexpectedly, Navalny was arrested on trumped up charges and sent to suffer and die a slow death in a Siberian prison.

What does Navlany have to do with Jeff Bezos?

When Trump was president, he hated Bezos, considered him an enemy, and used his presidential power to influence the Pentagon’s decision to pass over Amazon for a $10 billion Pentagon contract.

Bezos doesn’t want to suffer Trump’s wrath again.

Trump has stated his intention to have America reach Mars by 2028. There is no question that, if elected, Trump will invest heavily in space travel. Trump has already teamed up with SpaceX owner, Elon Musk. Bezos never again wants his companies left behind by Trump.

Bezos wants his lesser-known space exploration company, Blue Origin, to receive Trump’s blessing and billions of U.S. tax dollars.

So what happens when the owner of one of the most respected and influential newspapers in American history is owned by a man who is financially beholden to the President himself?

The Washington Post broke the Watergate story which led to the end of Nixon’s presidency.

Would the Watergate story ever have been published had Katharine Graham (The Washington Post owner at the time) feared that Richard Nixon alone had the power to decide whether or not her other business ventures succeeded or failed?

After the fall of the Soviet Union, freedom of the press expanded greatly in Russia. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin shut down almost all foreign and independent news outlets. Dozens of journalists have either been killed or detained by Putin’s orders.

Trump has openly expressed his wish to punish and shut down American news organizations that have opposed him and his political positions.

Is there any act more un-American than a President, former President, or Presidential candidate threatening to punish members of the press simply because they are reporting facts that he/she doesn’t want published?

Is there anything more chilling than watching the owner of one of the most respected papers in US history cowering before the threats of a President/former President/Presidential candidate?

I will miss my Amazon Prime account. And I will miss the small dopamine rush I get when I see a Prime package on my doorstep – even though the bounty inside is likely to be nothing more than a roll of the “environmentally friendly” kitchen garbage bags that my local Pavillions refuses to carry. I will also miss being able to instantly find and rent all of the movies that are no longer available on my countless streaming subscriptions.

Navalny sacrificed his freedom and ultimately his life for the love of his country.

For one of the very few times in my life, I have the opportunity to make one very small sacrifice for my country by cancelling my Amazon Prime account and boycotting Amazon.

I hope 80 million people will join me.

I love the USA,

Seth Kurland

p.s. Jeff Bezos also owns Whole Foods. I’ve never seen anyone in there wearing a red MAGA hat, but until Bezos reverses his decision, anyone going through the checkout stand at Whole Foods is showing their true colors.