Belonging: Why It's More Vital Than Food & Water (Next Gen's Future)

And I will say this last thing, it's no longer about me. It's really about the next generation. It's about ensuring the sustainability of our country as a world leader for the next generation. And that's what we have to think about. So it's getting out of our own way and having those one-on-one conversations, right? Being part of these kind of conversations. And listening, Dr. John Powell, who is the executive director of the Institute of Belonging and Othering at UC Berkeley, California, he just did a book on othering, CJ, and belonging. And what he— and he, oh my God, he so eloquently explained what belonging is. He said people's most fundamental needs is to belong before food and water, is the need to belong. That's the number one. So when you have that, and you have— he calls the other group othering. So you have to have, if you really want people to feel and be a part of belonging, you have to be able to listen to what they have to say, whether you agree or not. And the othering could be, for us, trumpets. And we have to do that. And then be able to see where we can have a common ground so we can move forward. And that was one of the best, best explanations that helped me define and believe what belonging and othering is. And we people get caught up in their cults and their groups and say, we all belong here. And then they leave the othering here. So we have to have— if we truly want to be a country of belonging, we have to bring everyone, everyone along. So I'm going to stop with that.