Over the last 30 years, the term whatever has become synonymous with sarcasm, a common phrase used by valley girls, a brief fad during the 1980’s. From an English teacher’s perspective, whatever can be used as a pronoun, adjective or informal interjection, designating a thing, number or slang comment. On the other hand, whateverism refers to an unyielding attempt by a forceful mind to convert simple moral truth into limitless shades of grey according to the Urban Dictionary.
Whateverism is the polar opposite of fundamentalism which is founded upon absolute truth, where right and wrong is clearly defined with moral constructs. In a culture of increased sensitivity, whateverism is most commonly used when an individual politely agrees to disagree with a person from another faith, saying something like, “that’s nice for you, but I’m content with where I am.” Since the Bible and prayer has been banned from public education in America in the 1960’s, Hollywood has interjected examples of whateverism within classic movies like City Slickers and Grand Canyon.
In City Slickers, Billy Crystal is undergoing a mid-life crisis, convinced by his wife to spend a few weeks with the guys to go find himself. During his vacation as a cattle wrangler, he meets Curly, a cowboy who teaches Crystal about the meaning of life using whateverism. Meanwhile, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover and Steve Martin paths cross unexpectedly in the film Grand Canyon. As each cast member struggles with various trials, the answer to life can be found by experiencing the Grand Canyon. Although each of these answers to life’s problems sound somewhat appealing, I’d rather be 100 % confident in Acts 4:12 than find out afterwards I was wrong. May the promise of Isaiah 55:6 come true for you!.
by Jay Mankus
