ABC's Mistresses episode "What Happens in Vegas" delves into parenthood and religion in a surprising way.
April (Rochelle Aytes) tries to get her 14-year-old daughter Lucy to come with her to the annual church fundraiser, but the teenager rebels against her mother, or as she calls her, "Mussolini in a maxi dress." Lucy says she used to like church but now she knows what it REALLY represents - "Most of the world's atrocities are committed under the name of religion" - and she can no longer support it.
Lucy: I don't want to go. Please don't make me.
April: Where is this coming from? You've always had a good time at the church fundraisers.
Lucy: That's before I thought about what the church really represents. Most of the world's atrocities are committed under the name of religion. I just can't support that with brownies.
April: Is that so?
Lucy: Yes.
What a childish and simplistic argument - no wonder liberals use it all the time!
That's a no go but then April's boyfriend pleads on Lucy's behalf. April stands firm, saying, "Look, I didn't want to go to church, either, when I was Lucy's age, but I'm glad my mom made me. It's given me a place to turn whenever I felt lost."
Later, Karen asks April why it's so important to her that Lucy go to church:
April: At the most basic level, spiritual guidance.
Karen: But what if she's not open to that right now?
April: She's 14 years old. She doesn't always know what's good for her.
April's right, parents know better than their children what's good for them. It's a parent's job to do what's best for their children, not to be their friend. And one day the child will look back and be grateful, like April was, that their parents made them do the right things, even if they weren't always fun.
Who would have thought that on a show called "Mistresses" there would be a few examples of good parenting and religious values? I guess every so often the blind squirrel gets the nut.
