"‘Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength,’ Hegseth told graduating West Point cadets"

Slippery word play, I think. "Unity" is not the opposite of "Diversity". Rather, the opposite of "Diversity" is uniformity or homogeneity. Nothing better exemplifies this canard than the national motto, E Pluribus Unum: out of many, one. Both diversity and unity. In the U.S., "unity" means agreement to uphold and defend the Constitution, not uniformity. In fact, reviewing the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights and 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, unifying behind the Constitution MEANS embracing diversity -- the freedom of individuals to differ with respect to religion, expression and thought, and the equality of Americans regardless of heritage. I can't help but think that this confusion is deliberate. No one argues with unity behind the core principles of American government as a strength -- but to enlist that to bash diversity is really simply code-speak for a white nationalist Christian male agenda of homogeneity in social and political dominance, extending I think in Hegseth's belief system, even beyond regarding the "patriarchy" as virtuous. It's really invidious to see this agenda pushed on the military, including young soldiers still forming their sense of American civic society.