An economic stand worth taking

Robert Braile's review of Barbara Ehrenreich's book "This Land Is Their Land" (Boston Globe, Sept. 25) is a sterling example of swallowing camels while straining at gnats. He snipes at her tone, uses "liberal" as a code word for "needn't be taken seriously," and whines about her lack - in his mind - of 21st-century consciousness. All this as he simultaneously tosses off as insignificant, if accurate, the content of her book.

"So what if the richest 1 percent of Americans are stealing more money and power from the rest of us with each passing scandal," his review suggests. "Who can hear such a vital message when it is written in such old-fashioned terms?" It is clear to this reader that the reviewer and the people who think like him are responsible for the mess we are in because they embody the adage "those who stand for nothing will fall for anything," whereas Ms. Ehrenreich and those who think like her managed for at least one blessed moment in our history to loosen the death grip rich white men have had on this country for longer than any of us has been alive.

Rev. Susan L. Starr
Acton