The Hell, The West Will Soon Enter Is Even Beyond The Imagination of Even Dystopian Novelists

Eleven years ago, the world was different because unlike today it had hope for recovery. 2014 was a world that had stage 4 cancer. But there was the promise of new and old political therapies that could save the West from being compelled to take to its deathbed in our lifetime. Not so much now, the West and its leadership are in a rapid demise that is leading us into a cul-de-sac of World War a dictatorship so horrible no dystopian novelist's imagination could ever conceive it.

Eleven Years ago, this week, Harry's Last Stand was published. It was a milestone because- not since the Ragged Trousered Philanthropist had a left-wing, political book, that was disguised as a memoir and written by an outsider to entitlement created such a deep impression in the public consciousness. During this week, I will provide selections from Harry’s Last Stand because it was well written and still has important things to say about life, politics and the Welfare State- despite how different the world has become since my father warned us “Not to make his past our future.”

Dreams-Harry’s Last Stand

This morning, just before waking, I heard it again in my sleep. It was the sound of harness bells. I followed the noise through my dream and stumbled upon an old dray horse that pulled an empty wooden cart. The shabby creature was driven by a man who wore a peaked cap and had a cigarette end resting nonchalantly off his lower lip.

I recognised him; he was the rag-and-bone man from my childhood in the slums of Bradford. I walked towards the man because in my dream I hoped he'd lead me home, to my parents’ doss. As I approached, he spat out his fag and called out to me: ‘What d’you want, boy?’ ‘A ride,’ I meekly responded. ‘Not today, lad, I’ve no time for you. You’ll have to make your own way home.’ With that, he ordered his horse to walk on. I awoke with a start and thought how quickly my time here had passed. One moment I was a boy, the next I was an old man. It was over nine decades ago that my journey in this life began. 

I have witnessed and endured extreme poverty, hunger, child labour, homelessness, the hardships of war and the glories of peace. I have loved and been loved, married, worked, raised a family, bought a house, retired to enjoy the sunset of my years, had grandchildren and buried both my wife and a son. I have been unlucky, and I have been lucky. I have drunk my life to the full, but I know it will soon be over. Life is short. Blink, and it is gone. So, before we are no more, we should aspire to do something that makes us, a better human being. We must become more accountable for our actions at home and at work. The only ambition that matters is that our existence creates more good than harm to our families and communities. It ensures that our epitaph is written with love rather than regret by those we encounter through life. Yet in today’s jilted world, how do we teach the young that there is more to life than accumulating wealth without responsibility? It is a cliché, but we must lead by example, and the greatest example we can give is to be engaged in the fabric of our society. Like all generations, mine was not of one mind. We had different opinions, lifestyles and prejudices. But we were a cohesive and united front, which allowed us to create a welfare state. Naturally, there were different sentiments on how it was to be implemented. People argued about its size and scope, but what brought us together was that everyone generally agreed that it was necessary. The Great Depression and the perils of being at war created a bond between the people of our nation. We had shared experiences that were profound, heartbreaking and heroic. These common traits allowed us to work together for Britain’s better future. Today as a society we are more divided than in my youth. We are split by region, income, race, age, politics and sometimes even culture, which makes it difficult to produce the united front necessary to make radical changes in our country.

A common purpose intent to preserve a nation and its way of life can be a noble endeavour. However, only if the purpose and way of life allow individuality and freedom of belief, thought and expression.

Diversity is a nation's strength, not uniformity. National identity must be more than simply cheering a flag at international sports events. It has to be unified through its culture. There is no more important way for Britain to define itself and its mission statement than through- the preservation of its welfare state. However, to re-energise our country and gird it for the struggles ahead, we need our young to be committed to the future of their community, and their nation, as well as themselves.

For the last 18 months, I've pieced together my Dad's Green and Pleasant Land, which was unfinished at the time of his death. It's done apart for some minor adjustments that are required. It covers his life from 1923 to July 1945 concluding with Labour winning the General election.

Like my Dad's 5 other books written during those last years of life, The Green and Pleasant Land is an exploration of his generation during the eras before and after the creation of the Welfare State.

Your support keeps me housed and allows me to preserve the legacy of Harry Leslie Smith. Your subscriptions are crucial to my personal survival because like so many others who struggle to keep afloat, my survival is a precarious daily undertaking. The fight to keep going was made worse- thanks to getting cancer along with lung disease and other comorbidities which makes life more difficult to combat in these cost-of-living crisis times. I promise the content is good, relevant and thoughtful. But if you can’t it is all good too because we are in the same boat. Take Care, John