I was reading an article where the author was bemoaning that the British Stiff Upper Lip is a thing of the past. Nowadays, he reckons, we are blubbing and crying all over the place,
The phrase is most commonly heard as part of the idiom 'keep a stiff upper lip', and has traditionally been used to describe an attribute of British people, who are sometimes perceived by other cultures as being unemotional.
A sign of weakness is trembling of the upper lip, hence the saying keep a stiff upper lip. When a person's upper lip begins to tremble, it is one of the first signs that the person is scared or shaken by experiencing deep emotion." Wikipedia
I think us British have changed but, there again, so has the world.
I can remember as a child being told that 'boys don't cry' and to be brave, even when scared. I guess much of this was carried over from the world wars when things were tough, with money and food rationed or in short supply. A complete contrast to today's excesses and rampant commercialisation.
I was reminded of all this also because of The Cub Book I mentioned in yesterday's post. This was a handbook from 1941 for young Boy Scouts from about 6 years of age. In this the author, Lord Baden-Powell, writes:
THE CUB GRIN
There's another thing, which if you have the sharp eyes of a Cub, you will have noticed, and that is that in each of the pictures of a Cub he is grinning ... Even if you don't feel like smiling - and sometimes you may feel like crying - remember this that
CUBS NEVER CRY
In fact Cubs always smile, and if they are in difficulty, in pain, in trouble, or in danger they
ALWAYS GRIN AND BEAR IT
That is what our soldiers and sailors do in war, so I am sure a Cub can do it.Once a very young boy, named Francis Palmer, belonging to the Wolf Cubs of the 18th Bristol Group, was knocked down by a motor car, his left leg broken in two places, and the side of his face badly cut about.
The boy was naturally in great pain but, to the astonishment of doctors and nurses never cried or complained. One of the doctors asked him why he was so brave, and his answer was:
"I am a Wolf Cub, and so must nor cry."
And I guess that was the attitude that was within my upbringing. It was very much 'pull yourself together' if things went wrong. Today I've changed, as we all do through life experiences, but at times I feel that a little of the stiff upper lip wouldn't go amiss in the world today. We sometimes seem to forget that we are responsible, for where and what we are today.
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