When Everyone Agrees, Nobody Sees

"Every time I walked into the Pentagon cafeteria, I saw something our adversaries fundamentally misunderstand about America. People eating biryani brought in Tupperware from home alongside trays of fried chicken from the commissary. One table speaking Tagalog. Another, Arabic. A woman in uniform laughing in Spanish with someone who'd been writing reports in flawless English five minutes earlier. This wasn't a diversity brochure. This was the most powerful military institution on earth,"

"What struck me deepest wasn't the technology, the uniforms, or the ranks. It was the people-an extraordinary multicultural tapestry. Men and women whose roots spanned every continent. Accents from Brooklyn and Birmingham, Lagos and Lahore, San Juan and Seoul. Faces carrying stories of immigration, sacrifice, faith, doubt, belonging. All of them standing shoulder to shoulder in service of a singular purpose, defending something larger than themselves. And each contributing something unique to their work: a perspective that nobody else could replicate."

An immigrant from Bangladesh arrived in the United States at 17 and later spent almost a decade working in the Pentagon and global briefing rooms. The work involved decisions measured in lives, security, and the future. Daily observations in the Pentagon cafeteria revealed a living multicultural tapestry: people eating biryani alongside fried chicken, tables speaking Tagalog, Arabic, Spanish, and flawless English. Men and women with roots across every continent stood shoulder to shoulder in service of a singular purpose. Diverse accents, cuisines, and stories of immigration, sacrifice, faith, doubt, and belonging shaped unique perspectives. Learning occurs when people view the world from different places together.

Read at Psychology Today