This Fourth of July, under patriotic bunting and over smoky grills, hot dogs will sizzle. But so will bulgogi, elote, and lamb marinated in turmeric and lime.

Food is the centerpiece of the Independence Day picnic, bringing to life the metaphor of a potluck nation where all cultures bring their best dish, and the celebration is richer because of the deliciousness of diversity.

While the founders of the 1776 generation got plenty wrong, they got one thing spectacularly right. By making religious freedom America’s first freedom, they created a framework for pluralism capacious enough to hold deep differences, and principled enough to protect their particularities. It’s the vision George Washington gave voice to in his letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport: that this new republic would offer “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

We live in a more diverse nation today than the founders ever imagined. And we’ve built intentional efforts to engage that diversity, but those efforts are missing an opportunity.

While 82% of Americans believe diversity makes us stronger, just 39% feel positively about DEI programs. The values have support, but the delivery does not.

So where is diversity done right? For a prime example of pluralism in practice—and on a plate — watch “Top Chef”.

Now 22 seasons in, “Top Chef” doesn’t flatten difference, it elevates it. Contestants cook from identity, turning heritage into advantage: Zubair Mohajir blends South Asian Muslim roots with Chicago’s Mexican street food to create roti quesadillas; César Murillo reimagines the popcorn and cream he lived on with $600 to his name as grits topped with blue cheese and apple. The show’s challenges invite fusion, too — like pairing Indigenous berries with rancher-style meats to reinterpret a Canadian “stampede” tradition that brought Native and settler cuisines together.

This season’s winner, Tristen Epps, consistently wowed by weaving Afro-Caribbean flavors through a Texas rodeo lens. As a young Black chef, he was inspired watching Marcus Samuelsson win “Top Chef Masters”. Now, Epps hopes his own win inspires the next generation of chefs to see their identity as a source of excellence.

Elevating those with fewer opportunities, linking identity to achievement, encouraging creative fusion that enriches everyone: that’s the kind of diversity work people across the political spectrum can get behind, and dig into!

America at 249 years-old is unfinished, imperfect, and still — an astonishing banquet of diversity. Whatever fills your July 4th plate this year — hot dogs, biryani, brisket, or bánh mì — may it bend under the weight of the bold, tasty promise of American pluralism.