Divorce, Grouper, and Cold Beer

Another installment of In the News! I found this little gem of a story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090924/ap_on_go_ot/us_divorce_american_style

Wayne County, FL has topped the list for highest divorce rate. Here is their new slogan:

"We don't have that many people in the county, but evidently they get around."

Something to be proud of.

"A guy sitting next to Mortimer at the Ocean View bar finished his martini in a plastic cup. His chuckle nearly drowned out the Creedence Clearwater Revival song playing on the radio."

That quote was just for fun :)... and to point out that this entire story is based on an interview that someone conducted at a bar that serves drinks out of plastic cups. How do I get that job? (Ironically, the author's last name is Lush). More evidence to fuel my anti-media bonfire.

Back to relationships.

I think what it all really comes down to is that most people are not satisfied, or even ashamed, of their true selves so they try to fool new mates into thinking they are someone or something else. Then, months or years later, they are tired of pretending to be someone else, stop hitting the gym, the honeymoon phase is long gone, and the two don't even flinch when the other farts.

Ahhh the fart. The fart is the tell tale sign that your relationship has either reached the point of complete comfort, that the two of you truly are one soul in two bodies, and you can do no wrong...

...or a sign the two of you have already gone this long bitching to your friends about their stupidity, maybe you've cheated, and you've definitely hit the point of comfort where dragging this relationship on is just a toe nail sliver better than the agony of breaking up and starting the love game all over again with someone new. Eventually, these relationships end. One way or another, sometimes in divorce.

Human and society are slaves to the status quo. We are by nature pack animals. We observe, we aim to be accepted, and then we repeat what we observe. The same is true for any action, but especially the taboo topic of marriage and other tale-as-old-as-time institutions. Imagine being one of the first couples to get divorced in the 1950s. Bet those folks met a few hundred condescending glares. But, as time has shown, the more people that get divorced, the more common it becomes. Other people around you doing it takes the edge off the situation. That rush of relief, like seeing someone you know at a party full of strangers.

So maybe this is the case for poor Wayne County, FL, where people enjoy a "lifestyle so laid-back that every day is like a Jimmy Buffett lyric"... People are not ashamed of divorce because everyone else is doing it too. Or maybe there are simply too many temptations of attractive people living there that the residents just can't choose who they want? There must be some sort of correlation between the amount of pretty people in a city and its divorce rate. Who knows.

Well, here comes the "expert" testimony on the matter:

"It just doesn't make all that much sense," said Michael Jackson, an associate professor of psychology at Earlham College, a private university in Richmond. "We find it really questionable. It just sounds funny."

Bingo. Just the explanatory response I was hoping for. I'm glad that this Psych professor thinks it's funny. You could really apply his sentiments to anything. Brilliant reporting work. It's all about the context.

Moral of the story: Be yourself. Always. You'll want someone that loves you for you, not who you are pretending to be. Bring back the sanctity of marriage. It's a beautiful thing.