I can agree that we aren't as multi-cultural as we might think, but I think he focuses too narrowly on the conformity of franchises and corporations. And the Interstate itself is an exercise in unity and conformity, it was designed that way. You can travel all the way across the country on it and see almost nothing. It is only when you get off the Interstate and see the small towns and talk to the people do you see the diversity in people and local culture. It can be truly shocking how different places are. I moved to Iowa for college with my car with a faulty gas gauge, and I learned something I never expected when I ran out of gas on a state highway: people in central Iowa will stop and offer you a ride until you give in and accept. There was not a single car that passed me as I walked toward the gas station that did not stop, and the same thing happened on the way back to my car. And that was just in a different part of the Midwest than I grew up in. Washington DC was a whole different culture. People were the same, but the social expectations were entirely different.
I do agree with the overall gist of the article that the diversity of the world allows us to better see God's glory in eternity. And from our vantage point within the U.S. we are not here seeing the diversity of the world. America has been called "the great melting pot" for a reason. But we are not devoid of diversity even in a small town like mine (about 25,000). We have an Indian restaurant (among others) and a mosque we didn't have 10 years ago. We have many more International students at the University than we did even a decade ago and even our grocery stores show it, something I'm quite happy about. So yes, there is great uniformity in the U.S. but there is a lot more diversity than there used to be. Yes, I'm not seeing the glory Christians from other continents will bring to heaven, but I see a little more than I did of the rest of the world.
