for using up prime time. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. You are singing our song. Well, the first thrill tonight was to find myself for the first time in a long time in a movie on prime time. But this, as you can imagine, is the second big thrill. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice President, to be in this convention, my fellow citizens of this great nation, with a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. I do so with deep gratitude. And I think also I might interject on behalf of all of us our thanks to Detroit and the people of Michigan and to this city for the warm hospitality of even so. And I thank you for your wholehearted response to my recommendation in regard to George Bush as the candidate for vice president. I'm very proud of our party tonight. This convention is shown to all America, a party united with positive programs for solving the nation's problems. A party ready to build a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words, family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom. I know that we've had a quarrel or two, but it only is to the method of attaining a goal. There was no argument here about the goal. As president, I will establish a liaison with the 50 governors to encourage them to eliminate wherever it exists discrimination against women. I will monitor federal laws to ensure their implementation and to add statutes if they are needed. More than anything else, I want my candidacy to unify our country, to renew the American spirit and sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every American, regardless of party affiliation, who is a member of this community of shared values. Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence, any one of which could destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, a weakened defense, and an energy policy based on the sharing of scarcity. The major issue of this campaign is the direct political, personal, and moral responsibility of Democratic Party leadership in the White House and in the Congress for this unprecedented calamity, which has befallen us. They tell us they've done the most that could humanly be done. They say that the United States has had its day in the sun, that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems, that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view. The American people, the most generous on earth who created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notion that we can only make a better world for others by moving backward ourselves, and those who believe we can have no business leading this nation. I will not stand by and watch this great country destroy itself under mediocre leadership that drifts when run crisis to the next, eroding our national will and purpose. We have come together here because the American people deserve better from those to whom they entrust our nation's highest offices. And we stand united in our resolve to do something about it. We need a rebirth of the American tradition of leadership at every level of government and in private life as well. The United States of America is unique in world history because it has a genius for leaders, many leaders on many levels. But back in 1976, Mr. Carter said, trust me. And a lot of people did. And now many of those people are out of work. Many have seen their savings eaten away by inflation. Many others on fixed incomes, especially the elderly, have watched helplessly as the cruel tax of inflation wasted away their purchasing power. And today, of great many who trusted Mr. Carter, wonder if we can survive the Carter policies of national defense. Trust me, government, asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man, that we trust him to do what's best for us. Well, my view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. But the trust is where it belongs, in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship between the people and their elected leaders is a special kind of compact. 360 years ago in 1620, a group of families dared to cross a mighty ocean to build a future for themselves in a new world. When they arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, they formed what they called a compact, an agreement among themselves to build a community and abide by its laws. This single act, the voluntary binding together of free people to live under the law, set the pattern for what was to come. A century and a half later, the descendants of those people pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to found this nation. Some forfeited their fortunes and their lives. None sacrificed honor. Four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln called upon the people of all America to renew their dedication and their commitment to a government of, for, and by the people. Isn't it once again time to renew our compact of freedom? To pledge to each other all that is best in our lives, all that gives meaning to them for the sake of this our beloved and blessed land. Together, let us make this a new beginning. Let us make a commitment to care for the needy, to teach our children the virtues handed down to us by our families, to have the courage to defend those values and virtues and the willingness to sacrifice for them. Let us pledge to restore in our time the American spirit of voluntary service, of cooperation, of private and community initiative, a spirit that flows like a deep and mighty river through the history of our nation. As your nominee, I pledge to you to restore to the federal government the capacity to do the people's work without dominating their lives. I pledge to you, I pledge to you a government that will not only work well but wisely. Its ability to act tempered by prudence and its willingness to do good balanced by the knowledge that government is never more dangerous than when our desire to have it help us blinds us to its great power to harm us. You know, the first Republican president once said, while the people retain their virtue and their vigilance, no administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can seriously injure the government in the short space of four years. If Mr. Lincoln could see what's happened in the last three and a half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. But with the virtues that our legacy is a free people and with the vigilance that sustains liberty, we still have time to use our renewed compact to overcome the injuries that have been done to America these past three and a half years. First, we must overcome something the present administration has cooked up, a new and altogether indigestible economic stew. One part inflation, one part high unemployment, one part recession, one part runaway taxes, one part deficit spending, seasoned with an energy crisis. It's an economic stew that has turned the national stomach. Ours are not problems of abstract economic theory.  We do not have inflation because, as Mr. Carter says, we've lived too well. The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means and which has in the last few days told us that this coming year's deficit will be $60 billion, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle, just trying to stay even. High taxes, we are told, are somehow good for us. As if when government spends our money, it isn't inflationary, but when we spend it, it is.  Well, now, conservation is desirable, of course. But we mustn't waste energy, but conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy. The Republican program for solving economic problems is based on growth and productivity. Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores untouched because the present administration seems to believe the American people would rather see more regulation, more taxes, and more controls than more energy. Coal offers a great potential. So does nuclear energy, produced under rigorous safety standards. It could supply electricity for thousands of industry and millions of jobs and homes. It must not be thwarted by a tiny minority opposed to economic growth, which often finds friendly ears in regulatory agencies for its obstructionist campaigns. Make no mistake, we will not permit the safety of our people or our environmental heritage to be jeopardized, but we are going to reaffirm that the economic prosperity of our people is a fundamental part of our environment. Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more government tinkering, more meddling and more control, all of which led us to this sorry state in the first place. Can anyone look at the record of this administration and say, well done? Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Carter administration took office with where we are today and say, keep up the good work? Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say, let's have four more years of this? I believe the American people are going to answer these questions as you've answered them in the first week in November and their answer will be, no, we've had enough. And then it will be up to us, beginning next January 20th, to offer an administration and congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable, and then the courage to bring our government back under control. It is essential, it is essential that we maintain both the forward momentum of economic growth and the strength of the safety net between those in our society who need help. We also believe it is essential that the integrity of all aspects of social security be preserved beyond these essentials. I believe it is clear our federal government is overgrown and overweight. Indeed, it is time our government should go on a diet. Therefore, my first act as chief executive will be to impose an immediate and thorough freeze on federal hiring. Then we're going to enlist the very best minds from business, labor, and whatever, whatever quarter to conduct a detailed review of every department, bureau, and agency that lives by federal appropriation. And we're going to enlist the help and ideas of many dedicated and hardworking government employees at all levels who want a more efficient government just as much as the rest of us do. I know that many of them are demoralized by the confusion and waste they confront in their work as a result of failed and failing policies. Our instructions to the groups we enlist will be simple and direct. We will remind them that government programs exist at the sufferance of the American taxpayer and are paid for with money earned by working men and women and programs that represent a waste of their money, a theft from their pocketbooks must have that waste eliminated or that program must go. It must go by executive order where possible, by congressional action where necessary. Everything that can be run more effectively by state and local government, we shall turn over to state and local government along with the funding sources to pay for it. We're going to put an end to the money merry-go-round where our money becomes Washington's money to be spent by states and cities exactly the way the federal bureaucrats tell us it has to be spent. I will not accept the excuse that the federal government has grown so big and powerful that it is beyond the control of any president, any administration, or Congress. We are going to put an end to the notion that the American taxpayer exists to fund the federal government. The federal government exists to serve the American people. On January 20th, we are going to reestablish that truth. Also on that date, we're going to initiate action to get substantial relief for our tax-paying citizens and action to put people back to work. None of this will be based on any new form of monetary tinkering or fiscal sleight of hand. We will simply apply to government the common sense that we all use in our daily lives. Work and family are at the center of our lives. The foundation of our dignity is a free people. When we deprive people of what they've earned or take away their jobs, we destroy their dignity and undermine their families. We can't support families unless there are jobs and we can't have jobs unless the people have both money to invest and the faith to invest it. These are concepts that stem from an economic system that for more than 200 years has helped us master a continent, create a previously undreamed of prosperity for our people, and has fed millions of others around the globe. And that system will continue to serve us in the future if our government will stop ignoring the basic values on which it was built and stop betraying the trust and goodwill of the American workers who keep it worth going. The American people are carrying the heaviest peacetime tax burden in our nation's history. And it will grow even heavier under present law next January. We're taxing ourselves into economic exhaustion and stagnation, crushing our ability and incentive to save, invest, and produce. This must stop. We must halt this fiscal self-destruction and restore sanity to our economic system. I've long advocated a 30% reduction in income tax rates over a period of three years. This phased tax reduction would begin with a 10% down payment tax cut in 1981, which the republic is in Congress and I have already proposed. A phased reduction of tax rates would go a long way toward easing the heavy burden on the American people, but we shouldn't stop there. Within the context of economic conditions and appropriate budget priorities, during each fiscal year of my presidency, I would strive to go further. This would include improvement in business depreciation taxes so we can stimulate investment in order to get plants and equipment replaced, put more Americans back to work, and put our nation back on the road to being competitive in world commerce. We will also work to reduce the cost of government as a percentage of our gross national product. The first task of national leadership is to set realistic and honest priorities in our policies and our budget, and I pledge that my administration will do that. When I talk of tax cuts, I'm reminded that every major tax cut in this century has strengthened the economy, generated renewed productivity, and ended up yielding new revenues for the government by creating new investment, new jobs, and more commerce among our people. The president administration has been forced by us Republicans to play follow the leader with regard to a tax cut, but in this election year, we must take with the proverbial grain of salt any tax cut proposed by those who have already given us the greatest single tax increase in our nation's history. When those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must also do with less, have they thought about those who've always had less, especially the minorities? This is like telling them that just as they step on that first rung of the ladder of opportunity, the ladder is being pulled out from under them. That may be the democratic leadership's message to the minorities, but it won't be our message. Ours will be, we have to move ahead, but we're not going to leave anyone behind. Thanks to the economic policies of the Democratic Party, millions of Americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never even had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job, or secure for themselves and their families, a share in the prosperity of this nation. It's time to put America back to work, to make our cities and towns, make our cities and towns resound with the confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities, and faiths, bringing home to their families a paycheck they can cash for honest money. For those without skills, we'll find a way to help them get new skills. For those without job opportunities, we'll stimulate new opportunities, particularly in the inner cities where they live. For those of abandoned hope, we'll restore hope and we'll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again. When we move from domestic affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the present administration. A Soviet combat brigade trains in Cuba just 90 miles from our shores. A Soviet army of invasion occupies Afghanistan, further threatening our vital interests in the Middle East. America's defense strength is at its lowest ebb in a generation, while the Soviet Union is vastly outspending us in both strategic and conventional arms. Our European allies, looking nervously at the growing menace from the East turned to us for leadership and failed to find it. And incredibly, more than 50, as you've been told from this platform so eloquently already, more than 50 of our fellow Americans have been held captive for over eight years, eight months by a dictatorial foreign power that holds us up to ridicule before the world. Adversaries large and small test our will and seek to confound our resolve. But we are given weakness when we need strength, vacillation when the times demand firmness. The Carter administration lives in the world of make-believe. Every day drawing up a response to that day's problems, troubles, regardless of what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. But you and I live in a real world where disasters are overtaking our nation without any real response from Washington. This is make-believe, self-deceit, and above all, transparent hypocrisy. For example, Mr. Carter says he supports the volunteer army, but he lets military pay and benefits slip so low that many of our enlisted personnel are actually eligible for food stamps, re-enlistment rates drop. And just recently, after he fought all week against a proposed pay increase for our men and women in the military, he then helicoptered out to the carrier, the USS Nimitz, which was returning from long months of duty in the Indian Ocean, and told the crew of that ship that he advocated better pay for them and their comrades. Where does he really stand now that he's back on shore? I'll tell you where I stand. I do not favor a peacetime draft or registration, but I do favor pay and benefit levels that will attract and keep highly motivated men and women in our volunteer forces and back them up with an active reserve trained and ready for an instant call in case of emergency. You know, there may be a sailor at the helm of the ship of state, but the ship has no rudder. Critical decisions are made at times almost in comic fashion, but who can laugh? Who was not embarrassed when the administration handed a major propaganda victory in the United Nations to the enemies of Israel, our staunch Middle East ally for three decades and then claimed that the American vote was a mistake, the result of a failure of communication between the president, his secretary of state, and his UN ambassador? Who does not feel a growing sense of unease as our allies facing repeated instances of an amateurish and confused administration reluctantly conclude that America is unwilling or unable to fulfill its obligations as leader of the free world? Who does not feel rising alarm when the question in any discussion of foreign policy is no longer should we do something, but do we have the capacity to do anything? The administration which has brought us to this state is seeking your endorsement for four more years of weakness, indecision, mediocrity, and incompetence. No, no American should vote until he or she has asked, is the United States stronger and more respected now than it was three and a half years ago? Is the world safer, a safer place in which to live? It is the responsibility of the president of the United States in working for peace to ensure that the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president, fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority. We're not a war like people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance and only after we've determined that it's absolutely necessary. We are awed and rightly so by the forces of destruction at loose in the world in this nuclear era. But neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime, America has gone to war bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of island beach heads, the fields of Europe and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong. It is when they are weak that tyrants are tempted. We simply cannot learn these lessons the hard way again without risking our destruction. All the objectives we seek, first and foremost, is the establishment of lasting world peace. We must always stand ready to negotiate in good faith, ready to pursue any reasonable avenue that holds forth the promise of lessening tensions and furthering the prospects of peace. But let our friends and those who may wish us ill take note, the United States has an obligation to its citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy freedom dictate the future course of life on this planet. I would regard my election as proof that we have renewed our resolve to preserve world peace and freedom, that this nation will once again be strong enough to do that. Now this evening marks the last step save one of a campaign that has taken Nancy and me from one end of this great nation to the other over many months and thousands and thousands of miles. There are those who question the way we choose a president who say that our process imposes difficult and exhausting burdens on those who seek the office. I have not found it so. It is impossible to capture in words the splendor of this vast continent which God has granted as our portion of his creation. There are no words to express the extraordinary strengthened character of this breed of people we call American. Everywhere, everywhere we've met thousands of Democrats, independents and Republicans from all economic conditions, all walks of life bound together in that community of shared values of family, work, neighborhood, peace and freedom. They're concerned, yes, they're not frightened. They're disturbed, but not dismayed. They are the kind of men and women Tom Payne had in mind when he wrote during the darkest days of the American Revolution, we have it in our power to begin the world over again. Nearly 150 years after Tom Payne wrote those words, an American president told the generation of the Great Depression that it had a rendezvous with destiny. I believe this generation of Americans today also has a rendezvous with destiny. Tonight, let us dedicate ourselves to renewing the American compact. I ask you not simply to trust me, but to trust your values, our values and to hold me responsible for living up to them. I ask you to trust that American spirit which knows no ethnic, religious, social, political, regional or economic boundaries. The spirit that burned with zeal in the hearts of millions of immigrants from every corner of the earth who came here in search of freedom. Some say that spirit no longer exists, but I've seen it. I've felt it all across this land, in the big cities, the small towns and in rural America. It's still there, ready to blaze into life if you and I are willing to do what has to be done. We have to do the practical things, the down-to-earth things such as creating policies that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity and put America back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending, to insist on a stable monetary reform and to free ourselves from imported oil. The time is now to resolve that the basis of a firm and principled foreign policy is one that takes the world as it is and seeks to change it by leadership and example, not by harangue, harassment or wishful thinking. The time now is now. The time is now to say that we shall seek new friendships and expand others and improve others, but we shall not do so by breaking our word or casting aside old friends and allies. And the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American people by another candidate in another time and another place. He said, for three long years, I have been going up and down this country, preaching that government, federal, state and local cost too much. I shall not stop that preaching. As an immediate program of action, we must abolish useless offices, we must eliminate unnecessary functions of government, we must consolidate subdivisions of government, and like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can no longer afford. And then he said, I propose to you, my friends, and through you, that government of all kinds, big and little, be made solvent, and that the example be set by the President of the United States and his cabinet. End of quote. That was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's words as he accepted the Democratic nomination for president in 1932. The time is now, my fellow Americans, to recapture our destiny, to take it into our own hands. And to do this, we'll take away many of us, or we'll take many of us working together. I ask you tonight, all over this land, to volunteer your help in this cause so that we can carry our message throughout the land. Isn't it time that we, the people, carry out those unkept promises that we pledge to each other and to all America on this July day, 48 years later, that now we intend to do just that? Thought of something that's not a part of my speech and worried over whether I should do it. Can we doubt that only a divine providence placed this land, this island of freedom, here as a refuge for all those people in the world who yearn to breathe free? Jews and Christians enduring persecution behind the iron curtain, the boat people of Southeast Asia, of Cuba, and of Haiti, the victims of drought and famine in Africa, the freedom fighters in Afghanistan, and our own countrymen held in savage captivity. I'll confess that I've been a little afraid to suggest what I'm going to suggest. I'm more afraid not to. Can we begin our crusade? Join together in a moment of silent prayer. God bless America. Thank you.


The year is 1951, and Linda Brown is a third grader in Topeka, Kansas. Now, like all other third graders, Linda Brown likes playing hopscotch with her friends.  Her mom and dad are worried about her because Linda isn't able to go to the same school as her peers. As a black person in 1951 in the United States of America, black people weren't able to go to the same schools as white people. And Linda, her parents, were worried about her because when they saw their child, they saw their future. They wanted their child to have the best shot at success. And so her parents ended up suing the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. And this was a landmark moment in the United States of America. It was known as something called Brown versus Board of Education. This ended up going to the Supreme Court. And this was important because this specific ruling in the Supreme Court is the reason why schools in the United States of America were desegregated. But Linda Brown and her parents had approved something. They had approved that discrimination is bad, which sounds silly in 2022, but in that time they had approved that this act of discrimination was bad for children. So there were two researchers at Columbia University who devised a study. They called it the Dahl Test. They worked with five to nine-year-old black boys and girls and provided them with two dolls. And then these researchers would ask the children a battery of questions. Questions like, which doll is good and which doll is evil?  Which doll is beautiful and which doll is ugly? And after asking these questions, the researchers would then ask little boy or little girl, which doll looks like you? And what Kenneth and Mamie Clark discovered was something staggering. 70 percent, seven in ten of these five to nine-year-old black boys and girls would describe the negative characteristics with the black doll and the positive characteristics with the white doll. Which doll is beautiful, the white one? Which doll do you want to play with, the white one? Which doll is good, the white one?  The black doll. And after asking all of these questions and answering them, when the researchers asked which doll looks like you, after saying the black doll was evil and ugly and that they didn't want to play with it, they would pick up the black doll and they would say, this is the doll that looks like me. These researchers discovered something incredible. In an environment steeped in discrimination, the issue wasn't how the rest of the world was looking at the black community, but instead how young black boys and girls began to look at themselves. So they discovered what was termed as internalized oppression. Now, this story and learning about this struck a chord with me. I'm the author of Nori Kids. Many of you may have heard of Nori Kids before, but what you probably don't know is that growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I went through a great deal of challenges. I remember, for example, when I was in middle school, it was a point in time when I wanted to fit in because kids were teasing me and I started telling my mom to pick me up 15 minutes after my baseball games were finished because I don't want anyone to see my mom. I don't want anyone to see her wearing a job. I just wanted to fit in. Now, in 2016, when my wife and I were here in the Bay Area doing our masters, we wanted to investigate this. We wanted to understand what is the impact. In 2016, 2016 was a very unique climate. There was a lot of things happening then, but we wanted to understand how young five- to nine-year-old Muslim boys and girls were internalizing their identity. And so we devised a very interesting piece of research. There were three parts to this research. One part of the research was a in-depth interview. It was about 30 minutes long when we would interview five- to nine-year-old Muslim boys and girls and we'd share statements with them and they'd say, yes, no, maybe, or I don't know. Statements like, I am a Muslim. I am an American. Muslims are good people. Americans are good people. Muslims can be Americans. Americans can be Muslim, so on and so forth. We would also give them a performance task where we would ask them to ascribe characteristics to two different people. There was a woman version of this and also a male version of this. This one's a little bit more dramatic. That's why I'm sharing it. But we'd ask the children to point towards which person has a lot of friends. Which person belongs in her neighborhood? Which person is good at sports? Which person is smart? Now if you look closely at this, what you'll see is they're both actually the same photo. One is a person wearing hijab. One is a person who's not wearing hijab. Now we did this research not just in the San Francisco Bay Area. We actually replicated it across five major cities in the United States of America. And we picked these cities on purpose to try to get a little bit of diversity. We did it in Los Angeles. We did it in Phoenix. We did it in Dallas. We did it in Atlanta, Georgia. And we did it in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. Now in general, the population was relatively diverse. When I say diverse, what I mean is it was a subset that was African-American. It was a subset that was Asian. It was a subset that was Middle Eastern. It was a subset that was that identified as being white. Additionally, there was diversity in terms of whether children were first and second generation in terms of as American. And we can, inshallah, talk about some of this in Q&A as there's discussions about it. But I want to share with you the top line headlines from that research. What we discovered was that one in three of these Muslim boys and girls, oh by the way, one other thing, pause, we were thoughtful about finding diversity specifically with respect to schooling. About half of the sample went to full-time public school but attended a weekend Islamic school. About half of the population went to a full-time Islamic school or they were homeschooled. Okay, so that was built into the study. And we can talk about some of those nuances as well in the discussion. But headlines, one in three of these kids responded that they did not want others to know that they are Muslim. 15%, about one in six responded that sometimes they pretend not to be Muslim. So Amina, who's five, she says something, they, the kids in public school, they don't know that I'm Muslim. And I don't want them to know. So at five, this child is articulating this feeling of, hey look, I don't want these children to know because she believes that there is a negative perception of that. One in two responded that they didn't know whether they can be both Muslim and American as if there was a conflict. By being Muslim, maybe they couldn't be American or Americans maybe can't be Muslim. Serena, who's nine, she said some Americans, they don't like Muslims.  You can't do things because you're not American.  They say that maybe. I want to pause real quick for a moment. A nine-year-old or a five-year-old is not bleaching their hair blonde. They're not going by mo instead of Muhammad. They're not leaving the faith. Why does it matter what a five to nine-year-old thinks? I don't know if you guys normally make this interactive or if I just do this rhetorically. But truthfully, like, who cares what a five to nine-year-old thinks? Why does it matter if a five to nine-year-old is articulating these attitudes? You guys, we can't all participate at the same time. That will be a problem. Yes, why does it matter what a five to nine-year-old thinks? Masha'Allah. Takbir, Allahu Akbar. Let's do it like, because you guys act like we want to be here and we're excited, okay? And let's breathe some energy into this room, okay? So we'll say Takbir and we'll all say Allahu Akbar together. Takbir, Allahu Akbar. Thank you for your contribution. Yes. So the prevailing theory is that by the time a child is nine years old, a significant part of their identity, their self-concept, their understanding of who they are has been established. Now, can that change? Yes, it can change. But you think about it almost as roots of a tree. Once the roots have been planted, they've been established and it's a little bit difficult to move. That's when we get almost the highest return on investment with respect to education is in those early years when we're planting those seeds. So the issue becomes if a five, six, seven, eight, or nine-year-old is articulating attitudes like this, at this age, what happens when they then go to middle school or high school and are carrying these beliefs with them? That's why it matters. So after doing all this research, it took us like a fair amount of time.  We would do these interviews. It took so much work and I remember once we finished it, I was at the dinner table with my dad and he was like, so mean, what did you find? And I said, dating, the headline of this research is that many of our children don't feel like they belong.  Ooh, I mean.  This is the issue that you're worried about, the kids don't belong? How would you respond to my dad? Does it matter if a child feels like they don't belong within their American environment? Does it matter? Who cares? How would you respond to my father? Who, by the way, I'm joking a little bit, but I'm using this as an important moment because we might also be thinking, okay, belonging, touchy-feely, seriously, why does it matter? Why does it matter? Someone who wants, yes, over here. Because so what the sister said is she said, look, this is the community that the kids are living in, they don't feel like they belong here, that's a problem. Mashallah, thank you, yes. She said, I don't want her to feel any less than her peers, as if belonging is related to self-esteem. If I don't feel like I belong, maybe that influences my feeling about myself, my self-esteem. That's one exceedingly good argument and we're going to talk about it. I want to position three specific reasons why belonging matters. And then after we talk about these three reasons why belonging matters, I want to share some of these specific things that we can be doing to help build this feeling of belonging among our children. But if you really want me to tell you why belonging matters, I'm going to say taqabir and I need you all to say Allah Akbar. Taqabir. Man, it doesn't seem like you guys want me to do it. It's not Iranian, I'm leaving, you do this, no? Alright, let's try it again, taqabir. Allah. Mashallah, mashallah. You know, I do kids programs for a living, right? So I got it, you know, alright. So one of the reasons why belonging matters is because it's tied to agency. I want everyone to say agency. One more time, agency. One last time, agency.  What do I mean, okay? If, for example, I said that there is a Tesla outside that has its lights on, if a Tesla belongs to you, you might then reach for your phone and say, oh, maybe that's mine. I also don't own a Tesla, I don't know how it works, you probably don't leave your lights on, right? But let me give you another example. When I go to a masjid, for the people who come to the masjid all the time, and they feel like this masjid belongs to me, when the program is over, they feel compelled to help clean up. They'll say, oh, let me grab the seats, let me put them where they belong. Let's fold up the things.  You feel like it is your responsibility. Are you following? Similarly, if our children don't feel like they belong within their community, they don't feel like they have a responsibility over it. The issues of their city, whether they be homelessness, whether they be issues of the environment, whether they be issues of pollution, they think to themselves, oh, they don't belong, I don't have responsibility over it because this community doesn't belong to me. One way you can talk about this in layman's term is being kind of a second-class citizen. This feeling of, oh, I don't get all the privileges of being a citizen of the city of Pleasanton or something like that. I'm just here, I'm transient. This isn't mine. Of course, we don't want that. We want our children to help build a better world. And if we want them to be actively involved in their communities, they have to feel like their communities belong to them. One of the reasons why belonging matters is because of agency. A second reason why belonging matters is because of what's called antisocial behavior. I want you to say it after me. It's a long antisocial behavior. One more time. Antisocial behavior. One last time. Antisocial behavior. When I say that, what I mean is when someone doesn't feel like they belong, it can often lead to two different consequences. One is assimilation and one is resistance. When I say assimilation, it's similar to that experience that I articulated before. Remember the one when I was talking about baseball? About how, for example, my mom, I would tell her to pick me up 15 minutes after my baseball games were finished because I didn't want anyone to know that I was a Muslim. This could be someone saying, oh, hey, my name's Mo instead of Muhammad, or someone bleaching their hair blonde.  There's different rationale why people do different things. But this assimilation is not ideal because we want our kids to feel comfortable in their own skin. We don't want them to feel like they have to be someone who they are not. A second reason why it matters is because of resistance. The opposite side of the coin is when someone doesn't feel like they belong, they begin to kind of dig their heels into an opposition against the majority. And this is something that we observed, I mean, in extremes. So for example, when we were doing this study and we went to Phoenix, we heard about an unfortunate situation that happened.  Now Phoenix was very unique.  Now this is actually the funny part of this. Let me tell you a funny part of the story.   And no one showed up. And they're like, what's going on here? Crickets or tumbleweed.  Oh, we don't even know. So anyways, they come on Friday. They had this situation. This was a big deal. This was a big deal. And imagine your young child at this point in time. You see this. Now, Alhamdulillah, by the way, the good news, the amount of support. Yes, on Friday this happened. But on Sunday of that same week, there were so many interfaith allies that came into the must shit that there was no space. It was literally standing room only, right? So I share that to say that this, what I described is not normal. Like this is, you know, these are, you know, extreme people with extreme points of views who treated these people this way. And this is not common. But regardless, it was a 13 year old boy who, in Phoenix, at this predominantly Pakistani must shit, where this occurred, afterwards there was an event where people were depicting our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be on him, in a very negative way. And he thought, you know what? I'm going to give them what they have coming. That, of course, is not ideal. That is not a situation we want any of our kids to be in. Right? But this is a result of, it stems from a feeling of belonging. Okay? So, I said belonging matters. One, because of agency. Number two, I said it matters because of anti-social behavior, which can be assimilation. It can also be resistance. We don't want our children to feel like they have to force themselves to be in one of these things. We just want them to feel comfortable in their own skin. A third reason why belonging matters is because of what our sister said earlier. Self-esteem, right? We want our children to have a positive feeling about who they are. We don't want to feel like they're lesser than other people or that they have to change who they are such that they can fit in or feel like they belong. Okay? Pause. As I'm talking about this, among us, there's at least a couple of people in the back of their mind who are thinking, but brother and me, do we really want to belong as Americans? What has America done? America has participated in some grave crimes. Crimes against some Muslim countries. Do we want our kids to be American? And what's unique is we actually found this in the research. We found what statistical significance that Arab children had less favorable attitudes towards America, Americans, and being American than any other ethnic group. The rationale is simple because they see and Pakistani children are much better than Arab children. I'm kidding, that was a joke. No one laughed. That didn't land. Okay, that was not the point. That didn't land. Okay. The reason why was because of American foreign policy. When we asked these children, why did they articulate these attitudes? They said, how can I love being American? Look at what they did to my people in Lebanon. Look at what they did to my people in Iraq. Look at what they did to my people in Palestine. So on and so forth. This was actually something that we observed within the data that these children that came from countries that had American foreign intervention, they had less favorable attitudes. But we have to understand for a moment when we say that we belong as an American, what does that really mean? Does that mean that I'm co-signing every action that every American has done? When I say that yes, I'm an American, does that mean that I co-sign every action that every American does and says yes? And by the way, if I say that I am American, does that mean that I can no longer be Pakistani like it's citizenship? Like, oh, you're American. You can't be Pakistani anymore? Absolutely not. This is a very important piece of the discussion. But I don't think you guys are ready for it. Just kidding. All right. Let's bring some energy into the room. Okay, I'm going to say Takbir. I want you to say Allah Akbar. Takbir. One more time. Takbir. One last time. And you guys, you can feel like you say loudly, okay? Takbir of Allah Akbar. Mashallah. So sometimes we think about identity and these various facets of our identities being mutually exclusive, or I can be Muslim, or I can be American, or I can be Pakistani. Sometimes in our mind, we think about it this way. My kids are Pakistani. They're not American, you know? But that's just not the way it works. Our heart is big enough where identity is intersectional. It's not mutually exclusive. I can be Muslim, and I can be American, and I can be Pakistani, and I can be a father, and I can be a son, and I can be a brother, and I can be a Minnesota Vikings fan, and I can be an athlete, and I can be and and and and and. Do you see that? We need not make this artificial choice to say I can only be this. No, I can be both. Number one. Number two, if I say that I identify as a Muslim, does that mean that now I am co-signing every decision that every Muslim has ever made? Absolutely not. Right? And in the same way, if I identify as being American, that doesn't mean that I co-sign every decision that every American makes. It simply means that this is an environment within which I feel like I have responsibility. This is an environment within which I feel like I belong. So I hope I've established thus far that belonging matters, why it matters, and also that belonging as an American is actually a pretty good thing. It doesn't necessarily mean that we are co-signing everything bad that every American has done. And also, it doesn't mean that we're giving up other parts of our identity either. So now the question becomes, how do we solve this problem? How do we help our children feel like they belong? This is not a rhetorical question. I want to get audience participation. If you were tasked with trying to solve this problem of helping our children feel like they belong, what are one, two, or three things that you think we could do to help develop this feeling? Yes. Please. So what the sister said is she said, hey, does schooling matter, right? The environment within which our kids grow up and does it matter. And I would take it a step further and I would actually assert that in fact, the community that our child grows up in matters a great deal. And this is one actually of the ways that we can help facilitate belonging. The sister came up with it. This is her second time contributing. She is getting a gold star. The rest of you, I don't know, bronze at best. Okay, bronze at best. But one of the key things is a community of practice. I want everyone to say community of practice. I want to say one more time, community of practice. One last time, community of practice. So if I were to do a summation, sum, and all of my child's social interactions on a consistent basis, that is roughly what we call our child's community of practice. So what does that mean? It means where they go to school. It means where they go for Sunday school. It means where they go for karate. It means where they go for hives. It means where do they go for soccer. It means who comes over on Friday and Saturday nights. If I were to sum all of these various things together, it makes my child's community of practice. And what we know is that as parents, we can be extraordinarily strategic in designing the community of practice that our children are growing up in to help stimulate belonging. So how do we design it? There are two key things that we know are valuable when we design the community of practice. One of the things that we know is valuable are mirrors. Say it after me, mirrors. Now when I say mirrors, I don't literally mean like a mirror that you're able to look at. But what I mean is a community within which when my child comes, they see other individuals who kind of mirror their identity. They mirror that. So what does that mean that could mean, for example, going to a full-time Islamic school? Or it might mean being actively involved in the masjid. Or it might mean having a close circle of Muslim friends where my child might see some people know to asterisk in this conversation, I'm specifically talking about Muslim identity, right? There's other types of identity, you know, racial identity, ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, so on and so forth, right? But I'm specifically talking about Muslim identity. So number one, we want to cultivate our community of practice, be diligent, thoughtful about crafting it such that there are mirrors. It is also valuable to have windows. I want everyone to say windows. Now when I say windows, I don't just literally mean windows that, you know, bring in the breeze. I mean windows into people who are also not Muslim. And me interacting in those spaces and feeling comfortable in my own skin, okay? So how does that practically manifest themselves? It could mean my child is part of a homeschool co-op in which they are with other Muslim families. But we're in karate and karate is in the city of Pleasanton where there is other people who may not be Muslim. That is, for example, cultivating my community of practice such that there are mirrors and also windows. Now there's other things that we know here that like generally speaking, if my child is in environments, now this is like not study, this is like educational theory, if my child is in an environment where there is a greater level of diversity that generally is a good thing because a child feels less like those differences are less salient in an environment. So for example, I grew up in Maple Grove, Minnesota. A sea of gory loge that means white people. And I was the only brown guy who stuck out like a sore thumb, right? Now if I was in an environment that was diverse and now I'm Muslim, my differences are not as salient. Do you see that? So that's also part of that community of practice and being thoughtful about it. We can talk in greater detail about specifically what our research showed about Islamic schools, but I don't want that to be the point of the discussion. So one of the things we talked about was community of practice. What is the second thing that might be valuable? Yes. Lead by example. What is your name? Javed. Okay, I'm going to say Takbir. I'm going to do Allah Akbar for Javed. Takbir. So I want to first, before I talk about this, head on, I want to talk about this which is similar. This is the idea of role models. I want everyone to say role models. Say it again, role models. One last time, role models. Thank you. So the most basic way which each of us have learned actually like the pedagogy that we learn faith like how Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala teaches us is through role models. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta'ala sent us prophets. Prophets that were not angels. Prophets that were human beings. Such that we could see these human beings and attempt to emulate them. Think to ourselves, Allah Akbar, I want to be like him or I want to be like her. This is natural. This is ingrained within us. We look to role models as a source of learning. Similarly for our children having access to role models that help showcase what does this integration look like? What does it look like to practice Islam in America and be unapologetic about it is valuable. Now oftentimes we think about these role models in two forms. One is what's called an aspirational role model. The second is what's called a relational role model. An aspirational role model is someone who they see. Maybe someone who they've never met could be like Ibtihaj Muhammad right?  Or it could be Salman Khan the one who made Khan Academy. I'm happy I qualified that. The Pakistanis in India loved that joke. Everyone else was like I don't get it. Because there's another actor named Salman Khan and he might not be the best role model. Okay we'll move on. So that is what's called an aspirational role model. Okay? There's value in that. Then there's a relational role model. That's someone that our child is able to touch, feel and see. It could be a teacher. It could be a boy scout or girl scout troop leader. It could be their teacher in Sunday school. Okay? Both of these role models are very valuable and as parents we can seek to try to provide them to us. Finally. There's a third thing. Now there's more than that. I'm simplifying. I want to talk about three things. Community practice, role models and the third thing is what Brother Jawad said. Now I'm going to share you something in the research but before I share it I need you to promise that you do not throw tomatoes at me. Does anyone have tomatoes in their bags? Don't throw them at me if you have them. And before you cast judgment on me and everything I've said allow me to explain this as well. Here's what we found with statistical significance in the study.  Now hold on pause. A simplistic look at this will say oh well if all the women wear hijab then that's going to solve our problems. That is not the point here. The point here is something different. Think about this. A mother's decision that literally has nothing to do with the child. It has absolutely nothing to do with the child. Empirically has a association with how a child feels about himself or herself. Now hijab is one very easy question we can ask in an interview. But think about the thousands of decisions that we as parents make on a daily basis.  Do I exhibit the relationship with prayer or the Quran or with Akhlaq? Do I observe that character? The single most important variable that impacts a child's understanding of who they are. It is not living in California. Sorry. It is not where they go to school. It is not how much money they have. The single most important variable is the quality of the relationship they have with their parents. Do you see that if you send your child to here but I'm not involved that's not going to solve our problems. I want to articulate this with an example. I talked about my father before and I share this example not in any way to demean my father but I use this as an example and may Allah bless my father. I remember when I was a kid in Minnesota we would go on road trips and when we were going on road trips I've already established that I'm Pakistani because you know flights are very expensive. So when we would go on road trips a time would come when it would be time to perform prayer and so we would go to the rest stop and then my father would look to the left he'd look to the right he'd make sure that no one was watching and then he would say ok Bismillah let's pray now. Now that was a tiny action. Do you see how tiny that action was? But me years later still associates that somehow this prayer that I'm doing is weird. I shouldn't do it when other non-Muslim people look at me. Do you see how that small decision impacted the way I feel? This is what I mean when I say the parents play the most critical and central role in the development of our children's identity. Now I want to pause for a moment. I want to talk about a couple of things here and I'll inshallah speak for maybe three to five more minutes and then we'll pause to give time for any questions you might have. We must realize and I start with myself when I say this our kids are getting older and I think about especially dads when I come home and how my little boy costume looks at me and he says daddy I want to play and I am I'm tired and I think there's nothing more than I want than to just sleep and take a nap and I know that each of you have been there and felt that but I want you to remember this a day will come when we pass away just like a day will come when our parents pass away and what lives on our legacy the ceaseless benefit the sadkha jarya that we have the best thing we can do is our children and the reason why I think about this is because my mom passed away when she was 52 my mom passed away and I remember when my mom passed away I'm going to tell a story and it's going to be about moms but before I tell that story I want to say that like dads play a very important role super important role sometimes when we think about parenting we think oh it's all moms absolutely not the best role model the walking grand he would play camel not horse he would play camel and his companion would walk by and he would look at the grand children what a great camel you have in our holy prophet how much peace and blessings would be on him would look and say no what great riders do I have at a time when dads wouldn't kiss their children he would be seen kissing his children when his daughter fought them I would come in the room he would stand up okay when my mom passed away my dad told the story it's my favorite story he said once upon a time there was a king and that king wanted to find the person in his kingdom that king was good and for that person he would give his crown and his entire kingdom so one by one each person came and they said oh look this is what I've done and there were three five of us first person was a doctor she said look I'm a doctor I've healed so many people I've created these medications I've researched these vaccines and when she finishes everyone gives her a round of applause and there's one person at the front an older woman smiling bigger than everyone and she was clapping harder than everyone and then the person goes off then a second person comes on it's an engineer the engineer says look at these bridges that I've made they've connected our society together they're amazing and again everyone gives this person a round of applause and again there's this old woman who's clapping harder than everyone else smiling bigger than everyone else finally there's a third person a teacher a teacher says look I have done so much for teaching our society and again everyone gives a teacher a round of applause and there's this woman who is clapping harder and smiling bigger now the king has a tough decision he goes into his quarters and he thinks ah how am I going to pick the doctor the engineer the teacher how should I pick things maybe I'll ask that old woman who is clapping so loud smiling so maybe she has an idea she invites her says oh woman who should I give my kingdom to and the woman says oh king I can't pick I can't pick the kingdom says what are you talking about what do you mean you can't pick the person who you pick is going to inherit my entire kingdom why can't you pick and the old woman says no king I honestly can't pick because all three of these people are my children and the king knows who that person was that person who had done the most for his kingdom he invited the mother he put the crown on the mother and the people celebrated I share this because subhan Allah we live in a funny time a funny time we're in we have established value based simply on economic value if someone makes a lot of money and is able to generate a lot of economic value masha Allah that is success there's value in that there's no doubt about it but the role of parenthood this lofty role is one that we as a society and as a community have kind of said oh you're just a mom oh you're just a mom just a mom are you kidding me Allah Akbar just a mom lady mariam was just a mom lady fatima was just a mom just a mom we have to seriously recalibrate look at this idea of parenting because we as parents play the most important role and remember the asterisk I said yes I talked about the roles of mothers and so then I don't want it to feel like oh but then fathers don't play no fathers absolutely play a role as well right there's not to wash our hands of it and one of the things we can also do is we I mean we play a role insha Allah we have about 10 minutes left I'm gonna pause and insha Allah will allow for conversation for 10 minutes yes you heard that story so do you love your mom how much a lot you know how you can show your mom that you love her the best thing you can do for your mom it's not to write her a card it's also not to get her a flower it's also not to get her a trophy the best gift you can give your mom is to be a living trophy to be the best version of yourself and insha Allah by doing that it will be something your mom will love and insha Allah we all pray that you're able to do that everyone say amen thank you any other questions yes yeah that's a great question so we during the research we did two different things one was an in-depth interview and the second was a performance task when we did the in-depth interview we shared statements with the children and they could either respond by saying yes no maybe or I don't know the statements were things like I am a Muslim I am an American Americans are good people Muslims can be American Americans can be Muslim now the research is available and I can share it with you as well but it was through these specific responses to these statements that we were able to create associations between various variables like for example a child whose mother wears hijab and then with how they responded yes to the in-depth interview great question masha Allah masha Allah yeah no I really appreciate it and I think if I were to summarize what you said in one headline I would say quality time right so you here in the MCC are like ruthlessly spoiled crazy spoiled so spoiled because you have people like Ustad Aranya here and you have people like Sister Hina and so many incredible scholars who talk about various things and I am confident that someone has likely talked about the love languages with the community before but if no one has allow me to briefly summarize right love is a big deal love between husband and spouse also love between parent and child now the key thing about love to know is that in the same way that we speak languages love also has languages there is a man who was a therapist whose last name is Chapman I believe his first name was Gary but I forget he penned a book called the five love languages after his entire career working with families and what he believed was the most significant problem in marriages wasn't that people didn't love each other but that they were speaking different languages and so he said that a spouse has to know the language of the other spouse and the parent should also know the language of the children and love them in that language there is five languages one of them is quality time everyone say quality time one of them is words of affirmation words of affirmation words of affirmation means compliments three is gift giving everyone say gift giving and by the way sometimes people think that there might be oh they're showy or gaudy or something no I mean some people just like gift giving there's nothing wrong with that number four is physical touch the fifth one is acts of service everyone say acts of service so now let me give you a practical example my father his love language is acts of service so he shows his love through acts of service I am my dominant love languages words of affirmation so what happens my father will do things for me to show me that he loves me what will he do for example when I was a kid he would pick me up and drop me off to baseball he would spend time playing baseball with me he would help me learn how to drive he would showcase acts of service but he wouldn't really give me compliments I mean you did a good job I mean I love you I mean you did great so I grew up thinking man this dad doesn't love me he loved me but he showed me in a different way you see that now fast forward now when I'm an adult I show my love to my dad I say Masha'Allah you've lost some weight Masha'Allah you look great in that shirt you've done a good job talking but he doesn't really care about that he cares about acts of service I mean my lawn needs to get mowed you haven't mowed my lawn I have this child who does nothing for me but do you see that I said it in jest but this is actually real so what I need to do if I really love my dad I need to show him love the way he wants to be shown love and as a parent I need to show that he or she wants to be loved and similarly with my spouse and one of them is quality time and quality time frankly can't go wrong especially with our children I'm going to pause I know it's going to be time for Isha very soon if there's time for one last question Alhamdulillah so let me pause and just because we have two minutes I'm going to tell you and I want to pause by also saying Alhamdulillah my name is brother Amina I'm one of those that don't know me I run an organization called Noor Kids it's a character building program primarily for kids ages 4 to 9 if you're not aware of our work we have some of our things outside please do take a look we also have a kids program after Isha every month kids get a new book in the mail and every week we do a story time for kids I share that to say realize I am not a sheikh and also number 2 our research is primarily focused on 4 to 9 year olds so while I do have thoughts on this I will put an asterisk next to my thoughts to say I'm not an expert having said that when a child is over the age of 9 one of the most valuable things we can do is to help cultivate that community of practice specifically through friends so now a parent thinks but I can't force who she's friends with no you can't force who she's friends with but you can create the opportunity for friendship to take shape if I can get my daughter involved in various programs where she might be able to develop strong friendships inshallah that might be a successful way to help them develop confidence because once our children get older sometimes the role of parents becomes a little bit more difficult inshallah we pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accepts our efforts allows our children to be the coolness of our eyes allows us to be the parents that our children deserve allow us to establish prayer and also our legacy our generations of children to come may Allah send your blessings on our holy prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be on him upon his family and upon his companions Jazakum Allah Khair, thank you


In today's video, we are going to talk about some interesting facts and myths about the Nabilung cat. Nabilungs are unique among cats, owing to the loyalty they display towards their owners. These shy and intelligent felines can sense the mood of a household very well, which is why they are considered excellent pets. It is safe to feed a Nabilung cat with food manufactured by most quality brands. However, owners should remember one thing, that feeding cows milk to them can cause a stomach upset. The Nabilung is a rare kind of cat breed. In German, the word, Nabilung means creature of the mist. This domestic cat is known for its dense coat. The coat is different from that of pure blue cats. The Nabilung possesses a double coat. The top coat is silvery and the undercoat is medium blue in color. The upper, silvery coat offers the Nabilung a ghost-like appearance. Here are a few interesting facts about the Nabilung cat which will give you some further insight into its characteristics and temperament. 1. Nabilung Cat's History The Nabilung cat breed was developed by Korah Khab of the Nebelheim Cattery. Khab was inspired by a kitten named Siegfried, the only long-haired blue kitten in a litter fathered by a long-haired black cat and born to a black domestic short hair named Elsa. A second litter produced a female long-haired blue kitten whom Khab named Brunhilde. Siegfried and Brunhilde became the foundation of a new breeding program and produced their first litter in 1986. Russian blues who carried the gene for long hair were imported from Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and contributed to the development of the breed. The International Cat Association gave the cat's new breed status in 1987 and full recognition in 1997. Nebelungs can be outcrossed to Russian blues. 2. Nabilung Cat's Size The Nabilung is a medium-sized cat with a long body. They tend to weigh in at 7-15 pounds with females generally being smaller than males. That said, some Nabilungs may fall outside of that range. 3. Nabilung Cat's Personality The Nabilung has a reputation as a gentle, quiet cat, somewhat shy, but don't get the wrong idea. This cat may have a reserved nature, but they love to play, being especially fond of retrieving, and enjoy jumping or climbing to high places where they can study people and situations at their leisure before making up their mind about whether they want to get involved. Guess will not receive this cat's immediate attention and may never see them unless they decide the humans are worthy of their notice, but toward family members, especially their favorite person, the Nabilung is ever loyal, following them through the house and even riding on a shoulder. The Nabilung is a sensitive cat who doesn't like to be ignored, and will be hurt if they don't receive the same amount of affection they give. Lack of attention can cause them to become anxious or fearful. While the Nabilung loves your company, they're capable of entertaining themselves during the day while you are at work. Unlike some active, intelligent breeds, they're not destructive but move through the house with the live grace of a Russian ballerina. When you are at home, their subtle sense of humor and manual dexterity will never fail to entertain. Just make sure you laugh with them, not at them. They have a strong sense of self-worth and don't like being made fun of. This is a cat who does best in a quiet, stable environment. They don't like change, and it's especially important to them that meals arrive on time. Count on them to be a faithful alarm clock in the morning, not so you don't miss work, but so they don't miss a meal. If you take the time to develop a relationship with a Nabilung, your reward will be a deep bond with this loving cat. 4. Nabilung Cat's Health Both pedigreed cats and mixed breed cats have varying incidences of health problems that may be genetic in nature. The Nabilung is generally healthy, however, an owner's main concern will probably be this cat's hearty appetite, which can turn them from sleep to stout in no time. Hello. This video is sponsored by Beemix Pets. Are you looking for high-quality cat collars at an affordable cost? Check out BeemixPets.com. Use coupon code KittenLife to get 20% off. 5. Taking Care of Your Nabilung Cat The Nabilung's long, dense coat should be combed twice a week to remove dead hair and distribute skin oils. Brush the teeth to prevent periodontal disease. Daily dental hygiene is best, but weekly teeth brushing is better than nothing. Trim the nails every couple of weeks. Wipe the corners of the eyes with a soft, damp cloth to remove any discharge. Use a separate area of the cloth for each eye so you don't run the risk of spreading any infection. Check the ears weekly. If they look dirty, wipe them out with a cotton ball or soft damp cloth moistened with a 50-50 mixture of cider vinegar and warm water. Avoid using cotton swabs, which can damage the interior of the ear. Keep the Nabilung's litter box spotlessly clean. They are very particular about bathroom hygiene, and a clean litter box will help to keep their coat clean as well. It's a good idea to keep a Nabilung as an indoor-only cat to protect them from catching diseases spread by other cats, suffering attacks by dogs or coyotes, and the other dangers that face cats who go outdoors, such as being hit by a car. Nabilung's who go outdoors also run the risk of being stolen by someone who would like to have such a beautiful cat without paying for one. 6. Nabilung cat's coat color and grooming. The Nabilung looks much like the elegant yet muscular Russian blue, but with a thick, shimmering, medium-length coat. Their general appearance is that of a long, sturdy, well-muscled cat. The International Cat Association breed standard for the Nabilung calls for them to have a modified wedge-shaped head that is more pointed than rounded, although his long hair may give the head a rounded look. Large ears are wide at the base with pointed tips, and rich, deep green eyes have a slightly oval shape and are set wide apart. Kittens may have yellowish green eyes, but by the time they are two years old, they should have developed into the vivid green of maturity. The nose pad is charcoal gray. A long, slender neck sometimes looks shorter than it actually is because of the Nabilung's dense fur. The body is what's called semi-foreign, meaning it is moderate in shape, falling somewhere between the short, compact body of breeds such as Persians and the sleek angles of oriental breeds such as the Siamese. It is athletic but not bulky, with a medium-boned body that is well proportioned. Supporting the body are long, medium-boned legs set on medium-size, well-rounded oval paws with generous tufting between the toes. The Nabilung looks as if they're walking on the balls of their feet. Their tail is at least as long as their body from shoulder blades to the rear end, covered in fur that is longer than the body hair. The Nabilung stands out for its luxurious coat and striking color. A medium-length double coat covers the body, increasing in length from the shoulder to the tail. Males have a distinct neck rough, but females are not as well endowed. Behind the ears is feathering in a lighter shade of blue. The fur covering the back of the upper thighs gives the Nabilung the appearance of wearing pantaloons. The outer coat is fine and silky, topping, and undercoat that is soft and downy. The coat typically does not develop fully until the cat is two years old. To the uninformed, the Nabilung might look gray, but in cat show terms, they are blue all the way to the roots. It's ideal if the fur is silver-tipped, which makes the coat seem to glisten, but often silver-tipping is noticeable only on the head and shoulders. Some Nabilung kittens are born with ghost stripes, a reminder of the tabby gene that all cats carry, even if it isn't expressed in their coat, but these generally fade, leaving the cat with a solid blue coat of maturity. 7. Nabilung cats to children and other pets. Nabilungs have a tolerant nature toward children who treat them kindly and respectfully, but they can be wary of younger children who pet them clumsily. Always supervise very young children when they want to pet the cat. The Nabilung is accepting of other animals, including dogs, as long as they aren't chased or menaced by them. Introduce pets slowly and in controlled circumstances to ensure that they learn to get along together. If you enjoyed this video, kindly press the like button. 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Hi, my name is Christina, and I'm the Children's Librarian at the Bayview Branch Library. The book that I love is The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonja Manzano. We probably know her best as Maria on Sesame Street. This is her first book. The next time you're itching for historical fiction, let Sonja take you to 1969 in Spanish Harlem, El Barrio, where the slum-like conditions instigated a group of young activists to take action. The story focuses on Evelyn, a teenager caught in between the political upheaval of her community, between upheaval by the young lords and two fierce and opposing women in her life, her conservative political mother and her grandmother, who's sassy, radical, and has a past that we'll learn about. Even though this is a children's book, Manzano's narrative is fast-paced and gripping. Adults alike will appreciate the story, the political background, and I highly recommend it. I love this book!