Paper Clips

Yesterday I posted about a new site Snagfilms.com where you can watch documentaries online for free. When I read about things like this I always try them out first. So when I visited Snagfilms the film that was on the home page was "Paper Clips", so I watched it. I did not know what I was getting into. "Paper Clips" is a the story of a Tennessee middle school project to learn about diversity and tolerance. It turned into much more than that. From the film website: www.paperclipsmovie.com

Whitwell, TN is a small, rural community of less than two thousand people nestled in the mountains of Tennessee. Its citizens are almost exclusively white and Christian. In 1998, the children of Whitwell Middle School took on an inspiring project, launched out of their principal's desire to help her students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley. What happened would change the students, their teachers, their families and the entire town forever… and eventually open hearts and minds around the world.

PAPER CLIPS is the moving and inspiring documentary film that captures how these students responded to lessons about the Holocaust-with a promise to honor every lost soul by collecting one paper clip for each individual exterminated by the Nazis. Despite the fact that they had previously been unaware of and unfamiliar with the Holocaust, their dedication was absolute. Their plan was simple but profound. The amazing result, a memorial railcar filled with 11 million paper clips (representing 6 million Jews and 5 million gypsies, homosexuals and other victims of the Holocaust) which stands permanently in their schoolyard, is an unforgettable lesson of how a committed group of children and educators can change the world one classroom at a time.

PAPER CLIPS, presented by One Clip At A Time HMA, is a production of The Johnson Group, in association with Miramax Films and Ergo Entertainment. It was named one of the top films of 2004 (documentary) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, has been acclaimed by critics as "Oscar caliber" (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America), and has received audience and jury awards at film festivals across the country.

What a great story of a community coming together and learning about how we should treat each other and how we want to be treated. One of the reasons that God allows events to occur like the holocaust, is so that those of us that come later can learn from the past and not repeat it. Also, to bring people together, break down barriers, remove prejudices and bring us to a state where we are all God's children. Watch it. Take the message forward in your life. Share it with those you love.