Guthrie wrote This Land as a critical response to the hit of the day, Irving Berlin's God Bless America, which ignored the inequities of the post-depression era and lulled listeners into a sense of proud complacency.
Like Berlin, Guthrie wanted his audience to feel proud of their country, but he also wanted them to feel empowered to fight for a better America.
This is where gratitude comes in. Gratitude, specifically gratitude for hard things, helps your brain rebound from disappointment and disaster.
Like God Bless America, This Land expresses gratitude. But unlike its predecessor, This Land mixes in disappointment, reminding listeners of the have-and-have-not nature of the nation while simultaneously celebrating its beauty.
Guthrie then hands responsibility for the beauty and the despair of the nation to "you and me,” turning what sounds like a gentle expression of gratitude into a call-to-action for the ages.
Mission accomplished.
