A marriage bargain
Everybody Loves Raymond is a pretty funny show. Its portrayal of marriage is probably realistic for a couple that has three children and have been married for 10–15 years, but sometimes it makes me cringe. The comedy grows out of the couple's conflicts with the kids, with the in-laws, with siblings, and often with each other. The thing I don't like about it is that Ray and Debra seem to be coasting in their marriage, more concerned with their own well being than with each other's. I don't like how they take each other for granted. Mrs. Happy thinks the show is hilarious, though, and I must admit that it offers a keen and insightful sense of humor, so we watch it periodically. Monday night's episode had an exchange in it I actually liked, and could sort of relate to:
Ray: I don't like it when you dress like that because the way you dress is a reflection on me.
Debra: (angrily) What, like you own me?
Ray: No! Well, yes. I own you, and you own me. That's what marriage is. Don't get mad at me just because you made a bad deal.
Heh. I sometimes tell people that I'm a good deal smarter than my wife, as anyone can plainly see just judging by who each of us married.
