After reading the two articles assigned in class concerning “Story of Stuff” and watching the entirety of the video, I am able to appreciate the critiques that some have made regarding Annie Leonard’s approach to producing this video and the comments that she makes, which might be perceived as anti-American or anti-capitalism.  However, my approach to activism has always led me to believe that in order to make as grand of a statement as possible, you need to push for the greatest possible outcome.  That is, if you want to achieve a certain end, you have to lobby for the best possible outcome and then make compromises along the way.  If you don’t aim high, it will be easier for you to be denied even something that you might think would be a fair compromise.

Therefore, I understand Leonard’s approach.  Frankly, sometimes people need to be scared about the potential consequences of their actions before they can really take steps toward changing them.  If there is no visible or implied consequence, they may not be willing to change their lifestyles.  Moreover, consider the millions of persons that watched “Story of Stuff” and then went about their lives.  So, I don’t think that scaring one child into questioning whether he should get a new set of Legos is quite as bad as the Heritage Foundation might think.