In fairness to Shan’ann Watts, this is taking a single phrase completely out of context and applying it back to her. We don’t mean to do this in a nasty or victim-blaming way, we simply want to look at something she said on its own merits, and with the benefit of hindsight.
First of all, it’s likely Chris Watts also wanted a drama-free life, either as much as Shan’ann did, or possibly even more. Trouble was there was plenty of drama on the horizon as it was. Shan’ann was about to fall pregnant, intentionally, and Watts was about to begin an affair that would have apocalyptic consequences.
With these huge dramas waiting in the wings, it would be important to everyone’s survival not to add unnecessary drama to an already loaded situation. Even the financial storm brewing around them meant the odds of staying at an even keel were minimal.
So there is a lesson in this. All extremely loaded situations are by default difficult to deal with effectively. In a circumstance where there’s not one but three [and arguably more] devastating situations to deal with [a pregnancy, an affair, a second bankruptcy], it’s possible to make this bad situation infinitely worse.
Whether we blame Shan’ann and/or Chris Watts for the pregnancy, for the affair or for their financial distress, what we can agree on is that all these issues were preventable in the first place. They were individually and collectively matters of choice.
Nut Gate – the explosion of resentment that preceded the ANNIHILATION – was similarly unnecessary. Whatever it’s connection to the murders, it clearly didn’t help anyone. It added to a sense of emotional compromise, irritation and aggravation. By the same token, committing triple murder was hardly any kind of practical, workable solution either [let alone moral or ethical], but this “alternative” was selected for reasons that had to do with Watts’ low social prowess. There’s also another reason Watts chose the way he did: he chose what he considered the “easy” instant option for him. Millions are programmed to do that each the every day.
In the modern world we’re constantly faced with simple, convenient opportunities to deal with complex and difficult situations. MLM companies thrive on people who want to make the easy but ill-informed choice. Invariably these simple, convenient choices don’t make life simpler or more convenient. Our self-delusion and greed draws us into wanting more but without paying the price or making a real sacrifice to get it.
Wanting a drama-free life is one thing. To achieve it means when things hurt, when we want to lash out, we’re able to suck it up, we’re able to exert discipline and see the bigger picture, if not for others then for ourselves.
Seeing the bigger picture includes attaching real consequences to ourselves, and our choices, especially those that seem to offer a quick and easy solution. There is never a quick and easy solution to complicated situations. But we can make a choice not to add unnecessary drama to already dramatic and difficult situations. That resolve, and keeping to it, is the first step on a road to somewhere better than we presently find ourselves. We’re very quick to blame others, but other people are beyond our control. The drama-free way is not to blame ourselves, but to turn to ourselves as both the source and the solution to what’s wrong with our world.
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