The Dude Testament

9. Will you just take it easy, man?

So far, the movie has served up two examples of what the Dude is not: He is neither an ideologue, nor a nihilist. Now we get to see yet another prime example of the un-Dude—his best buddy, Walter Sobchak. They say opposites attract—this universal principle is apparently at the base of this unlikely friendship.

Walter’s weakness is not vanity (like the other Lebowski), nor is it vacancy (like Uli)—rather, it is violence. Back in the bowling alley, Walter stands up for everything he holds sacred by pointing his handgun at an opponent who disagrees with Walter’s assertion that his toe has slipped over the line during a turn. It is such an outrageous response to such a minor infraction that we howl with laughter. Yet overreactions like this occur every day and they invoke howls of a different sort. And often we’re the ones waving around the figurative firearms. Uncontrolled anger makes S.O.B.s out of all of us.

As they leave the alley, just ahead of the police, the Dude begs Walter to “just take it easy, man!” It is a refrain that will repeat at various times throughout the film—one of the most defining phrases of the Dude. Though a hackneyed old hippie bon mot, it’s more applicable today than ever. A few decades of “can-do” ambition and eagerness have obscured the fact that the entire goal of our society should have been to help us “take it easy.” Explicitly reflecting Reagan-era individualism, idealism, and ambition, Walter seems to reject this as impractical. “Doesn’t anyone give a shit about the rules?” he screams. Yet to rework a key line from the New Testament: “The rules were made for man, not man for the fucking rules.” And to paraphrase Voltaire: “The ideal is the enemy of the Dude.”[13]

An overemphasis on justice and retribution has resulted in what some pundits call “The Age of Entitlement.” This is one of the reasons so many of us feel angry all the time. Yet, followers of the Dude should see those lines drawn in the sand not as provocations, but rather as helpful suggestions. Then we could fulfill the prophetic promise of our Dudeist ancestors and enter a true “Age of Enlightenupment.” As the Dude puts it, “It’s just a game, man.” He might as well be referring not to the league bylaws, but to life itself.