What Amazon doesn't understand

If you've been on the internet in the last couple of days, I'm sure you've come across the news about Amazon selling a book that's a guide for pedophiles. After a huge outcry (and I'm guessing a fear of losing business at Christmastime), Amazon pulled said book from its site. They didn't pull the other items on their site that promote this vile practice though. Why would Amazon keep other items on their site that are so abhorrent? That seek to steal and maim the innocence of young children and forever taint their view of themselves and the world around them? Although my guess is that it all comes down to the almighty buck, they drum it up to one thing: Censorship.

Amazon claims that if they don't sell these items, that it's censorship. They seem to view themselves as the bastion of free speech and liberty.

But I think they've got it all wrong.

In this country, we have the right to say/write/think pretty much anything that tickles our fancy. If someone tries to stop us from doing these things, then we are being censored. That's pretty straightforward.

Here's where Amazon gets it wrong. Choosing not to sell an item is not censorship, it's using discernment. Every day we have to make choices. To differentiate between right and wrong. To take the high road or the low road. The choices we make say a lot about who we are and the character we embrace. This is true not just for individuals, but for companies, too. Just because you're a large corporation doesn't mean that you're free from having to make a distinction between that which is acceptable and that which is repugnant. Deciding not to sell a book does not keep the author from writing it, it keeps you from being a used as a megaphone to promote activities that are illegal and deplorable.

What are your choices saying about you?