In September 1939, posters started appearing around the country with slogans like “YOUR COURAGE, YOUR CHEERFULNESS, YOUR RESOLUTION WILL BRING US VICTORY” and “FREEDOM IS IN PERIL. DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT”. They were widely despised in the press who ranted about the government wasting money on posters when there was a war to be fought.
The poster that got away hangs on the wall behind the checkout at Barter Books in Alnwick. It reads ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’. and is one of only two known originals in good condition. The story of how the poster was found and went global is ongoing, but it’s not what this site is all about.
Keep Calm and Carry On?
Keep Calm… was always going to be a success. It’s a timeless and important reminder. A mantra, almost, against every day setbacks. So, why am I dusting off the earlier slogan?
Freedom is in peril. Civil liberties are being slowly chipped away. Philip Pullman has written eloquently of malevolent voices that despise our freedom and it seems that every day, Cory Doctorow posts about another outrage on boingboing. Meanwhile organizations like Charter 88 (now Unlock Democracy) and Liberty have been standing up on these issues for years (Liberty is 75 years old).
So, why this site?
Freedom is in peril, but how do we go about defending it with all our might? It’s easy enough to get angry about the latest depressing news story, but how do we transmute that anger into something more constructive. How do we convince the “I’ve got nothing to hide” crew of the awfulness of CCTVs and government monitoring of facebook? How do we kick back against the ASBO culture that sees children as a threat not the future? How do we give our kids the space to become decent adults in the face of cameras in classrooms and on every street cornder? How do we rebel politely?
Freedom is in peril, the site aims to find answers to those questions. I’m not interested in silly petitions, the time is not right for fighting in the streets. I’m interested in the things we can do locally to reduce the climate of fear that tacitly supports the erosion of liberty.
Freedomisinperil.org.uk came about because Alan Fleming pointed me at the poster and I saw that the domain was available. Now we just need to discover what it will be.
Dig for Victory
Participation is as simple as getting or printing an attractive green poster, sticking it in your front window and being prepared to explain why. Barter Books are selling facsimiles at reasonable prices (£4.60 as I write) so you might like to start there, or you can grab a pdf version and print your own at any size you like. If you do put up posters, why not take photos and stick them on flickr. Tag them ‘freedomisinperil’. I’ve taken to using the #freedomisinperil hashtag whenever I tweet something related. Consider doing the same.
Your country needs you
If you have ideas for articles for the site, drop me a line at pdcawley@freedomisinperil.org.uk.