This past weekend at a conference promoting the health and wellbeing of young children and parents, I learned of a quote from South African cleric Desmond Tutu. He is describing the concept of “ubuntu:”

“It is to say, ‘A person is a person through other persons.’ A person with ubuntu is open and available to others,…for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole…”

While the conference was excellent, I found myself sneaking looks at my twitter feed for glimpses of the exhilarating energy of support for Pete in Iowa, which I had experienced first-hand in New Hampshire weeks earlier. While I was learning about the profound significance of a sense of belonging in human development, Pete was saying these words at the Polk County Steak Fry:

“Answering the crisis of belonging in this country means making sure that everybody knows where they fit in America’s future, and everybody means absolutely everybody. That’s what the Presidency can do, if it is in the right hands.”

I also learned at the conference that one origin of the word “kindness” is “tribe.” It has its roots in the concept of connection and belonging. I see Pete’s kindness as the antidote to the diet of hate and divisiveness we have been feeding on for the past several years, and that has been brewing unseen below the surface for many more. These dark feelings have their roots in a sense of not belonging.

The fact that Pete’s supporters hold their signs upside down while another candidate is speaking is emblematic of the kindness that pervades his campaign.

When I see and feel the joy and exuberance at gatherings in support of Pete, I am reminded of a book I used to read my children when they were young. A little chipmunk, Lola, holds words bursting to come out of her cheeks. She cannot find the space or time to say them so they will be heard. She feels sad and discouraged. Finally at the end, as her cheeks puff up bigger and bigger til she cannot hold them any longer, the words come flying out to her parents: “I love you, I love you so much!” Only then can she find peace.

Being among Pete supporters gives me a sense that in relation with each other and with Pete himself, we can say the words aloud. We can bring our common feelings of love and connection, which have been suppressed and stifled in the current political climate, into the public space. Pete has created that space.

I understand that the primary process is focused on policy, and nuances of differences among the democratic candidates. Pete’s policies are wise, detailed, and specific. But once he wins the nomination a more general slogan, as with Obama’s “Yes we can” will be needed. I wonder if “We all belong” might work.