If you are wondering what you can do to express your\u00a0solidarity\u00a0with the resistance,\u00a0here\u2019s\u00a0a simple\u00a0thing everyone can do:<\/p>\n
Wear a paperclip on your lapel.Or on\u00a0your\u00a0shirt collar, T-shirt\u00a0neckline, breast pocket, anywhere. \u00a0Just\u00a0wear one, please.<\/p>\n
This is not a new idea. \u00a0I learned of it while reading Joyce\u00a0Vance\u2019s \u201cCivil Discourse\u201d newsletter on Substack s few days ago.\u00a0 Vance explained that during\u00a0World War II Hitler\u2019s forces\u00a0took control of \u201cneutral\u201d\u00a0Norway\u00a0and\u00a0attempted\u00a0to\u00a0replace\u00a0its\u00a0culture with Nazi ideals.\u00a0\u00a0They ordered schoolteachers to\u00a0teach Nazism in\u00a0classrooms,\u00a0and\u00a0they ordered the church\u00a0to teach \u201cobedience to the leader and the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
They also banned all symbols related to the royal family and state. \u00a0So, in\u00a0the autumn of 1940,\u00a0students at Oslo University started wearing paperclips on their lapels as a non-violent symbol of resistance,\u00a0unity\u00a0and national pride.<\/p>\n
The idea caught on, and soon some Norwegians were\u00a0even\u00a0wearing\u00a0paperclip bracelets and other types\u00a0of jewelry as well,\u00a0symbolically binding\u00a0them\u00a0together in the face of such adversity.<\/p>\n
It worked for the\u00a0Norwegians, and\u00a0it\u00a0will\u00a0work for us if we will just do\u00a0it and encourage others to.<\/p>\n
Any paperclip will do, but jumbo paperclips are best because they can be seen better. \u00a0Office supply companies also stock shiny brass ones and brightly colored ones, and they are even better.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0a simple thing, and it works because if you see someone else in\u00a0public\u00a0wearing one, you know\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0met a friend.<\/p>\n
Please consider wearing one.\u00a0\u00a0Help get it started.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n