I know it has been my hard luck in the past that has caused me to do what little I’ve done, and I know it will be your past experiences that will lead you into the life that is before you, and make you a very wonderful person, doing good work, helping people, and living a good, useful life.

The main thing that I want you to think about is this: The two bunches of people in the world, the ones that are rich without working, and the ones that work all of the time and are never rich, and the ones that are standing around never rich, and the ones that are standing around with their hands in their pockets waiting for some rich man to give them a job so they can eat and drink, and pay their house-rent, and have a little fun.

Now it looks like there are some wars breaking out around over the world. This is between the rich people. Us poor folks have nothing in the world to do with these wars, because, win, lose, or draw, we are poor to commence with, and will be poor to end with. So it is plain that these wars are between the rich people, for more lands, more fields, more mines, more oil fields, more factories, more colonies, more folks to work for them, and more profits in their pockets to buy Lincoln Zephyrs, Cadillacs, Silk Dresses, Good Whiskey, Pretty Women, and Streamlined Horses. This is the way the idle rich spend their time and money, and I will add Poodle Dogs, because it looks like Poodle Dogs are another very big thing in the lives of our rich rulers.

Woody Guthrie, letter to his sister Mary Jo. Rpt. in Pastures of Plenty, ed. Dave March and Harold Leventhal.