To Watch or Not To Watch

I enjoy 18 Kids and Counting. I understand the passion for family that drives them and it's a great relief to me that there is a family in the world so much larger than mine. I also knew so many people in the same kind of mindset growing up. They are a bit right of where I grew up, but we had friends all over the spectrum. One summer we traveled the mid-west with a Christian acting troupe that had ties to Bob Jones University. I wore skirts for everything that summer and all the older ladies dressed just the way the Duggers do. It's fun to be reminded of the quirks and the genuine warmth of fundamentalism.
I have my favorite Dugger. I will not be revealing her, but sometimes when she's on screen you can almost watch her thinking. I wonder what she thinks about. She's always quick to express the appropriate fundamentalist thought, and I wouldn't expect anything else. If you genuinely believe that your behavior and beliefs can save someone from eternal damnation what kind of a jerk do you have to be not to uphold your truth at all times. "Of course I am happy." "Of course this is how we live our lives." "Of course this is better than that." But what if she's wondering? what if she's looking at other options? Am I doing the right thing by participating in the pressure that keeps her smiling and agreeing?
Not that you need a camera in your face to keep nodding and smiling. For me it was enough to go to church and church school. I kept withdrawing step by step until I finally found a place quiet enough to let me think and decide for myself. I want that piece of mind for my favorite Dugger, even if she stays fundamentalist all her life. Children shouldn't be subject to this kind of scrutiny. Just look at Jon and Kate plus Eight.