How about this: instead of flat out accusing the author of causing technical debt (essentially an ad-hominem attack), why not disagree with the substance of her

How about this: instead of flat out accusing the author of causing technical debt (essentially an ad-hominem attack), why not disagree with the substance of her argument. That is: that one does not truly need to be passionate about this industry to be both successful and good at your job, and that the assumption that one does is keeping qualified people out of our industry. That way you don't need to worry about whether or not we are great. It's truly immaterial.