Have you seen all the paraphernalia emblazoned with the line: “Keep Calm and Carry On”? We noticed items with the saying beginning a few years ago, and now they are everywhere. If you so desired you could buy pillows, coffee mugs, beer steins, baby rompers, sweatshirts and even shower curtains emblazoned with that motto, or some variation. What’s it all about?
An Internet search revealed that late in the year 1939, as World War II was beginning, the British government commissioned three signs to be posted in public locations as morale boosters to its citizens undergoing the upheaval of war. The first two posters offered these words of encouragement and caution:”Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory” and “Freedom is in Peril.” These two signs found their way to prominent spots in railway stations, shop windows and other public settings.
The third sign was designed and printed but never distributed because it was intended to be displayed only when and if German soldiers actually invaded British soil. That final undistributed poster featured a bold background color, a drawing of the crown of King George IV, and large lettering saying: “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
Now, nearly 80 years after that time, we might find ourselves wondering about that advice. Keep calm and carry on? If some sort of guidance were to be reserved for the direst development in a war, when enemy forces have just landed on your homeland, wouldn’t you have anticipated something more gripping, more vigorous, more motivational? Wouldn’t you have expected a call to retaliation or vengeance?
Maybe the “Keep Calm and Carry On” wartime advice is simply an example of typical British reserve. Or maybe it’s more than that. Maybe it’s incredibly wise counsel no matter what hardship, crisis or serious aggravation is at hand. After all, in this modern era when anger so readily escalates to road rage, online bullying or even physical violence, a publicity campaign in favor of keeping everyone calm seems like a pretty good idea.
Stress, aggravation and anger not only tend to cause harm to others as they spill out, but they aren’t good for the one experiencing them, either. According to “The Wisdom Project” by David Allen, editorial director of CNN Health and Wellness, regularly experiencing powerful negative emotions is linked to outcomes such as insomnia, overeating, depression and a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, while lessening anger and tension results in improvements to our health and our happiness.
Of course, long before we had the scientific sophistication to demonstrate linkages between anger and a whole host of negative results, the sages counseled cultivating a serene and peaceful life, no matter what forces seemed to be threatening or even invading. From meditation to prayer, from seeking counsel to offering service to others, we can find some means of taming the inner beast so that, as the Apostle Paul encourages, the sun will never go down on our anger. Or in other words, when we find ourselves frightened, vexed, stressed or angry, let’s keep calm and carry on.