Reflecting Upon What Matters

June 1, 2010 at 11:28 pm | Posted in Society and Culture | Leave a comment
Tags: bill whittle, memorial day, mike schlitz, pjtv

by Walter Scott Hudson

Bill Whittle has stood out among the fine folks at PJTV as a guy who not only “gets it,” but has an uncanny capacity for relating “it” to others. Self-described as a former liberal, Whittle’s libertarian conservatism is a product of intellect and spiritual reflection. Some set of circumstances apparently led him to reevaluate his priorities and adopt a paradigm which was not indoctrinated from youth. This conversion process appears to have endowed him with the ability to strike at the heart of what matters, a skill one develops when restructuring their fundamental values.

A culminate example of Whittle’s insight came recommended by The 56 Club this week as essential Memorial Day viewing. Entitled “A Tale of Two Americas,” it contrasts the cold indifference of urban anonymity with the personal sacrifice of many in flyover country. While ostensibly a geographic generalization, the point of Whittle’s piece has less to do with location than relation. In one of Whittle’s Americas, people relate indirectly – through media, through government, through institution. In the other America, people relate as human beings.

It is this latter nation which produces individuals like Army Sgt. 1st Class Mike Schlitz, a severely wounded veteran who nonetheless approaches life with immense gratitude and happiness. After spending time with Schlitz, Whittle reflects upon the affluent in his home city of Los Angles. “It’s not escaped my attention that the rich and privileged and the famous are far, far unhappier than unknown and decent and generous people.”

Watch the video. It is worth your time.