Dear Friends,
I voted early this election year. For me, voting is a way to express my commitment to everyday choices for the common good. This year voting was an expression of resistance to apathy.
For several days after I voted, and on election Tuesday, I wore the sticker I Voted Today! This sticker kindled several conversations, not just about issues and candidates but also about voting. Wearing the voting sticker connected me to others at a time when connection is difficult. We talked about claiming the power of everyday choices in a time when these choices feel less effective.
The voting conversations got me thinking about paper clips. The paper clip became a national symbol of resistance in Norway during WW2 and was worn as a nonviolent protest of the 1940 German occupation. The Germans attempted to strip away Norway’s culture and replace it with Nazi ideals. Norway’s teachers were told to join the Nazi Party and teach Nazism in the classroom, and the church was told to teach obedience to the leader and the state.
In the autumn of 1940, students and teachers at Oslo University started wearing paper clips on their lapels as a non-violent symbol of resistance. The paper clip was simple in nature and widely available. Its use spread throughout the population of Norway. Norway had one of the strongest Nazi resistances on the entire European continent and the strongest contingent were the teachers and students. Despite their tremendous suffering, they banded together with their fellow citizens, continuing to resist until the end of the war. The paper clips were a symbol of solidarity, first in communicating with each other and, later, as a national expression of resistance.
I’ve begun wearing a paper clip. It connects me with brave people in history. Perhaps, like the voting sticker, it will connect me with others who now choose to act for the common good.
In hope,
Susan Schantz SSJ
