Stuff is "Partisan and Liberal"

In December 2007 I posted about a video called The Story of Stuff.

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Sound good? I enjoyed watching it, and learned a thing or two in the process. Over four million others have viewed it as well. But it seems that not everyone has appreciated the presentation. In fact, a school board in Missoula, Montana, in reaction to a parent's complaint that the video was "partisan and liberal," decided last month that a biology teacher who showed it to her students was in "violation of district policy regarding academic freedom." Here's what happened next, according to an article on missoulian.com:

That decision was assailed... and the fiercest critics were students themselves. They appeared in number, with carefully written statements and strong presentations.

Cue enthusiastic cheering. Read about it:

School board assailed for video decisionThe Politics of StuffCriticism surprises director of 'Story of Stuff' video