Page 375, Foxfire Book 1, interviewing Hillard Green.

People nowadays don’t live right. It’s just how long they’re goin’ live, and how soon they’re goin’ die. Just what they can get in their hands now. Always wantin’. They just reach an’take ever’thing they can seems like. Ain’t got no mercy on no one else. If I didn’t depend on Him, I wouldn’t have anybody t’depend on. You can’t depend on a neighbor these days. Ever’body is for themselves. Ever’body’s looking out for money. They’re not lookin’ out for th’ humans. We’ve got t’look out for ourselves. If we don’t look out for ourselves, what are we goin’t’do?

We had freedom back then. We was free. We went out anywhere and did kinda as we pleased. But now we can’t do it. Money is th’ root of all evil, and it rules th’ world right now. Ever’thing goin’ for money. They’ll do anything. They’ll kill, rob, steal, and ever’thing else all over th’ world now. You hear tell of it anywhere y’go now. It’s fast time now, y’know. Ever’thing’s flyin’. These automobiles runnin’ to and from ever’ corner of th’ world. Well, ain’t they goin’ from ever’ corner? You can’t hardly travel fer’em. You can’t walk along th’ highways’r’nothin’. You ain’t got no freedom’r’nothin’. You’ve got t’be in under some kind of control. If we didn’t have no highway patrolmen, what would it be? Most folks sort’a dread’em, but some of ’em get so far along they don’t dread’em. They just go along ’til they get killed. Look like they want t’kill themselves. And while they’re killin’ themselves, they want t’kill somebody else.