The more you know, the less you “Kohl’s.”

By: Becky De Nooy

 

During the four years of his administration, President Trump endured endless attacks from the left.  Some conservatives, observing the vitriol, mistook it as directed at him alone. But post-election demands for retribution demonstrate even mere supporters’ lack of immunity from leftist contempt. With mounting concern and indignation, more of us are recognizing the threatening, marginalization, and attempted silencing of conservative voices as grave dangers to our freedom.

To wit:

*  When New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked if Trump “sycophants” would be “archived,” the Trump Accountability Project promised to “remember” what those who even elected President Trump “did.”

*  Warning ominously, “We have a list,” Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin deemed anyone alleging election fraud unfit for “polite society.”

*  How to “deprogram” 75 million people, puzzled David Atkins, California Regional Democrat Director, on Twitter.

*  Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich called for a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” once the Trump “nightmare” ended.

*  In a vitriolic rant, sports commentator-turned political pundit Keith Olbermann labeled Trump supporters “maggots” who needed to be prosecuted, convicted, and removed from “our society.”

Alarmingly, this list is hardly exhaustive.

Judging by their actions, some American companies are concurring. Facebook, a long-time staple on the viewpoint discrimination stage, has been joined very publicly by other high-tech censors. After the U.S. Capitol breach by protesters the media claimed President Trump had incited, he was banned from Twitter, effectively silencing his voice to the American people. Then Amazon Web Services de-platformed Twitter’s conservative competitor, Parler, leaving it offline and scrambling to find a new platform. Apple and Google, too, joined in the Parler decision. While proclaiming virtuous motives, corporate censors are silencing disfavored viewpoints, aiming to vilify the dissenters who hold them: you, me, and the millions more like us.

Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, is an outspoken Christian and supporter of President Trump. After the 2020 election, Lindell sought out evidence of election fraud in an effort to prove Trump the legitimate winner. Five days before Trump’s first term ended, Lindell visited the White House, where he was photographed waiting outside with his notes. Blurred excerpts of those notes appeared to suggest the president invoke martial law in states where fraud had run most rampant. Within the next few days, retailers Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s severed ties with MyPillow. Both companies denied their actions were politically motivated, instead attributing them to declining sales of his pillows.

By the time the MyPillow announcements were made, my indignation had turned to action. While I lack the crushing power of Facebook and Twitter, I drew a line in the sand by deleting those accounts. Amazon Prime was more painful, but I swallowed hard, then kissed them goodbye, too. My stance, if taken alone, cannot affect them financially. Still I refuse to be complicit in the destruction of free speech, and I’ll not empower corporate bullies who expect Americans to be more loyal to company than to country.

With Kohl’s I was bolder, since they clothe my seven kids. I called and wrote, urging them to reinstate MyPillow, or lose my business. Then I remembered new Kohl’s items in our closets, so to punctuate the point I returned them all, and politely told the manager why. As an American striving to pass freedom to my children, our country’s founding principles mean more to me than the stock of any store. I cannot—will not—assist in the exclusion from society of patriots like me. I don’t own a MyPillow; my dog in this fight is freedom. Ultimately, we may find that few corporations want us as customers, but I won’t shuffle quietly toward tyranny, giving more entrepreneurs the erroneous message that they can pile on with impunity.

It’s not the galling lack of grammar in the slogan, “The more you know, the more you Kohl’s,” that’s so vexing to me. It’s that Kohl’s over-inflates its importance, and expects I will, too. But freedom is far too steep a price to pay for trifles. As a liberty-loving patriot, the more I know, the less I “Kohl’s.”

Dear American, consider well your freedom—to speak, to associate, to worship—when choosing which companies to empower with your spending! Yesterday’s patriots have sacrificed greatly to secure our liberties; today’s patriots should honor them with small sacrifices to preserve it.

Join me in telling the corporate censors that they’ve overstepped their bounds. Our freedom—and our children’s freedom!—is worth it.

Take Action!  Click here to send an email to Kohl’s, asking them to stick to selling products, not politics.

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We are grateful to God that He has moved on the hearts and minds of our friends, showing us a little of what is inside them. Your notes of encouragement, prayers, and financial support mean so much to us; without them, we wouldn’t be able to do the important work that God has laid upon us.

Won’t you prayerfully seek the Lord’s will to come alongside us again, supporting us in whatever manner you feel led? Thank you.

To support our efforts, please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412

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