The Whatever.

     "Whatever" has become this generation's anthem. The one thing they can't seem to get enough of is quitting. That one compound word can mean so much from, "hey, it doesn't really matter to me, I don't want to fight about it, and I value our friendship more than being right" to "You're such a complete idiot, you'll never understand it, so I'm done wasting my breath on you and your useless brain". It use to mean, "Either option is amiable", but somewhere in the eighties it picked up a sense of bourgeois arrogance.
     But now, I see children "whatever"-ing their parents. Right out in the open, blatantly giving the verbal equivalent of the finger. That's not to be unexpected, kids have always been somewhat rebellious, it's how they figure out who they are and where the boundaries are. What I don't understand is the parents that nonchalantly accept these "whatevers" from their kids. As if there is no harm in what they say and attitude is completely kosher.
     Yet, I know one of my weaknesses is the ability to pick battles. Don't get me wrong, I pick battles all the time, I just pick too many of them. And I sometimes pick stupid ones and there's a stubborn streak that doesn't want to quit. But that's part of parenting, isn't it? I mean, marriage, parenting, friendship, relationships, work-relationships, any relationship at all, if it's to be productive and withstand the test of time, must have an element of compromise. Without it, there is too much rigidity and it will shatter if too much pressure is applied. So, maybe I should embrace the Whatever mentality a little more. Maybe I should come to understand it as actively choosing to not choose this thing right here as my battle, and just letting bygones be bygones. Still don't know how well I'm going to handle a backhanded "whatever" from my kid, but we'll see how it goes...