Dear Arthur,
I think I married a douchebag. My husband seems to be morphing everyday more and more into a monument of all things douche. Don’t get me wrong; he wasn’t always like this, he used to be a great guy. Now he can only wear Italian designer label clothes, eat at specific restaurants, and he talks to people like he’s related to Gordon Gekko. Divorce was never an option, but I never thought I’d have to flush him down so to speak. Is there any other way?
- Signed, Margaret Massengill
You’re right! Divorce shouldn’t be an option within a healthy relationship! However if someone is modeling himself or herself after a fictional character like Gordon Gekko from Wall Street than there’s absolutely something going on akin to a Marital Armageddon going on!
On the surface your husband is experiencing either a mid-life crisis, in which case after he blows some money on an expensive car and has a quick affair he’ll revert to normal. Or, worse he’s trying to redefine himself by engulfing himself within the upper levels of the social caste system. My money is on the latter!
I say this because within these harsh social economic times people of various fields and pedigrees are being forced to compete for even the smallest of jobs and opportunities. You have Harvard grads flipping burgers alongside high school dropouts. I’ve even seen people switch religions and political factions in hopes that perhaps on the other side they could have a better life. We have all had to come to terms with this new reality and reinvent ourselves. Like you said, your husband used to be a GREAT GUY: That man still exists! He just needs to find the right social network to stay not just EMPLOYED, but RELEVANT!
