In 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, the British government printed millions of posters to send simple propaganda messages to the people. The posters appeared on billboards, and in shop windows and railway stations and places like that. They tried to encourage and cheer people in the face of bombing raids, food rationing and other hardships. However, one of the posters was never used. It was the poster which would tell people what to do if the Germany army actually invaded Britain. At the end of the war, the government destroyed all the copies. Well, not quite all, because in the year 2000 a second-hand book seller found a copy in a box of old books which he had bought. The poster said simply, “Keep calm and carry on”. In other words, do not panic, carry on as normal – go to work, look after your families, and so on. This was the very British message that our government wanted to send to the people if our country was invaded.
Since it was rediscovered, the poster has become very popular. You can buy copies on line, and mugs and t-shirts with the slogan “Keep calm and carry on”. Perhaps people feel that this simple slogan means as much today as it did 70 years ago. We have so many problems today – economic crisis, environmental problems and wars in many parts of the world. What can we do? Keep calm and carry on!