Larson’s tirade about the
middle class worth a read

Ken Larson’s “FAILED! A View of America From the Middle Class” is proving to be a very controversial and provocative book. The message is that the government is failing the very backbone of this country, working class/middle class Americans, ignoring them in favor of their own views and the corporations that have the “big money” that can help them get re-elected. Ken Larson seems to be implying that the middle class, who make up quite a bit of America, are being pushed aside in favor of these high rollers. The middle class won’t even be considered when the time comes for passing any sort of legislation, or heard when they have complaints about the laws that are up for voting. This is just as long as the corporations are happy and the money that helps politicians get re-elected and move onto bigger and better positions in the government keeps rolling in.

Larson suggests that in order for the middle class to not disappear into obscurity, views that are separating us as a whole must be dropped. For example, the view that the Democratic Party is better than the Republican Party, or vice versa, is one of the most common that separates us.

I can relate to some of the points of view that Larson has concerning things like the recent war in Iraq and how it has been going to date. This book also explains what many in the middle class believe these days: that it isn’t even worth voting anymore, because the big corporate money controls those in politics. The war in Iraq was started because of lies concerning nuclear and biological weapons that Sudam Hussein had hidden, of which no one has ever found any trace.

These are just a few of the key points listed in “FAILED!” that are considered to be important to the American people. For those who are trying to make up their mind on their opinion of government and other subjects in this book, Larson has placed Internet sources in his reference pages for further research.

“FAILED!” is more than likely the most controversial book I have ever read, and it will be called slanderous by many reviewers. While I don’t like this book and wouldn’t consider reading it again, I would recommend that people who want to read it judge for themselves what of the text is true.

Marijane Weitensteiner
Culture Writer

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