I’ve been considering the slogan, “Keep calm and carry on,” its myriad permutations, and why I find them irritating. Being a librarian, I did my research – talked to a historian, explored the slogan’s “official” website, and read a few published articles.
As you may know, it was part of a morale-boosting campaign in World War II Britain during the threat of a Nazi invasion. The saying was to be on one of three posters, but this one was never released to the public.
It resurfaced around 2008 during the banking crisis and has been employed relentlessly ever since.
In 2016, when the “Word of the Year” is “post-truth,” I think we need a more demonstrative mantra. Perhaps “Freedom is in peril. Defend it with all your might” -- one of the other two slogans from the Second World War.
On the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Blog, Joyce Johnston observes that “post-truth mirrors cognitive disaster.” I mean, isn’t “post-truth” really just lying and deception? And shouldn’t we expect more from each other, not to mention our leaders.
Let me be hopeful. Maybe the recent exposure of fake news will wake us up a little. An Internet search for “how to counteract fake news” returns more than 100 million hits, and let’s not forget the role of libraries in advocating and teaching sound methods of evaluating information sources.
It’s going to take real dedication and effort to hold ourselves and others accountable. So let me offer my rephrasing of “Keep calm.” I know I need to “Pay Attention and Take Action.”
I’m Paula Garrett, and that’s my perspective.
