Democracy to those who are struggling, and there are millions of us, looks more like road kill at the side of a highway. It's not working out for the ordinary citizen the way it is working for the entitled in our society. 2023 has become the year that governments normalised the cost of living crisis, the privatisation of healthcare and war without end.
I am not surprised all this happened, and neither would my dad, Harry Leslie Smith, the World's Oldest Rebel. He spent the last ten years of his life warning us not to make his past our future. Sadly four years after his death, many political and news media influencers who once championed him now ignore his legacy.
But that is insignificant in the long game because ordinary, struggling people didn't forget my dad. There are thousands who remember him, his books, speeches or his cry that democracy lives or dies on the strength of society's social welfare system.
Since 2009 when my dad's Harry's Last Stand project began, I have sought to promote, preserve and expand upon the history and working-class wisdom of Harry Leslie Smith. It's why; I am always looking for unique ways to get more people to learn about him and my advocacy.
What you are about to listen to is a small sample from an innovative project I am working on with some fantastic, people; who, like me, believe that Harry's work and writings need to be revived for the troubled times we live in now.
The project is me, in conversation with my dad talking about the essential struggles of our era, public healthcare, affordable housing, Brexit, the Refugee crisis, the Climate Crisis and the cost of living crisis.
But it is also about the voyage I took with my father in those last years of his life. That odyssey was the greatest political, emotional and spiritual journey of my life, and it profoundly changed me. This is a very open and honest series that deals not only with politics but the tragedies, triumphs and fuck ups in my family.
The series is about saving what's left of our democracy and returning it to the people. How do we do that? By each of us becoming more like the world's oldest rebel and his 1945 generation. We must become angry in a constructive manner and fight for our right to exist in a society where the needs of the many take precedence over the few. The project won't be available for broadcast until October and hopefully it will be out around the time of my 60th birthday. But until then I will be sharing snippets and updates. Fingers crossed because maybe even by then my Essential Harry Leslie Smith's Rebel Handbook will be published along with the updated edition of his memoir 1923: The Green and Pleasant Land.
Your subscriptions help keep me housed but they also keep the Harry's Last Stand Project moving forward. So if you can, a paid subscription is appreciated. But if you can't, a free subscription is also appreciated. Take care, John
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