Conservative and Passive Themes?

I have been trying to put my finger on what bothers me so much about this show. I acknowledge it is well acted, but I still don't like it. I think what I find so 'wrong' about it is the "Leave It To Beaver" striving-to-be-perfect social themes that are floating underneath the writing. The meaningless social gestures of togetherness and attempts at wholesomeness are saccharine sweet and seem to be social agenda setting rather than appropriate or realistic to the story.

Examples include the whole town turning out for the Miller boy recreating the fateful skateboard ride on the hill, the whole town and neighboring towns lighting bonfires on the beach, the anti-abortion subplot, the priest acting as counselor to a couple who aren't religious, the mother of a dead child deciding to work to reform sex offenders, the victim family satisfied with yelling at the murderer rather than taking revenge, and the retired/disabled lawyer coming back for one last local case.

While they might be 'dramatic' story telling moments, it seems like the characters were all robbed of any anger, revenge, or negative emotions. They are all self-sacrificing to the ideals of social harmony, disproportionately and unrealistically so. The whole thing screams social obedience rather than realistic personal motives or drives. Indeed, the only characters who follow their own impulses are the sexual predators.

The show, amusingly, screams emotional restraint for the sake of social institutions -- telling viewers to be passive, even in face of the darkest tragedies. It's creepy!