Three Cases of 'General Hospital's' Mixed Up Daddy Issues

For as long as most of us can remember, the mob has played an integral part in the 'General Hospital' storylines. Characters involved with syndicated crime like Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan are veritable anti-heroes, the bad guys we love despite their wayward ways. Hell, even Luke Spencer has been a shady character and look at his enduring popularity.

Despite the criminal side of these characters, there have always been the traditional values espoused as well. Love and marriage, children and parenting ... there's no way to be a soap hero without facing the problems and conflicts of being a father. We've been getting a lot of mixed messages from 'GH' about fathering. Take a look at these three perplexing examples:

1. The Sonny Situation. There's a lot of mixed messages about Sonny. For years, he's been involved with women and has become a father. He adopted Michael, fathered Kristina in a one-nighter with Alexis, Carly had Morgan while they were married, and recently discovered his high school sweetheart, Olivia, gave birth to Dante and never told him about his son. For all of his children, Sonny has vowed to be a better father than his own flawed dad, Mike, was to him.

Sonny is a good father from what we've been shown. However, the writers are now telling us that Sonny's evil profession makes him a bad father. That doesn't add up. Yes, Sonny's in a dangerous business and his children have been hurt because of his work. However, Sonny has given everything to his children. He's even tried distancing himself from them -- staying away from Kristina to appease Alexis -- and that's been a disaster. Kristina is a screwed-up teenager and pathological liar. And she blames her father's absence from her formative years, even though that what supposedly the right thing to do.

Two years ago, Carly asked Sonny to give up his parental rights to Michael and Morgan. Again, Sonny didn't want to do it, but for Carly's sake, he acquiesced. What changed? Not much. Sonny was still part of their lives. Michael still got in trouble all on his own. The world knows that Michael and Morgan are Sonny's children. Carly's idea, to have Jax adopt Morgan, is ridiculous. Morgan took the witness stand in court as Sonny's son. A name change now would not erase that fact.

Instead of condemning Sonny, Carly and Alexis and Olivia should be grateful that he cares about his children and wants to be there for him. He's a mobster, but even 'The Godfather' loved his children!

2. Luke, the Reluctant. Luke Spencer never wanted to be a father. That was all Laura's idea. For most of the lives of Lucky and Lulu, his two kids with Laura, Luke's been an absentee father. He's come and gone at will, and yet still managed to raise two excellent kids. They love and respect their old man, even though they know he's a non-conformist.

He won't play at 'Father Knows Best' ... but he did teach them how to survive in the cold, cruel world. Recently, when he found Ethan, another kid he'd fathered, he embraced the young man because he was a grifter like Luke had been.

In spite of Luke's history as a scoundrel and a con artist, these days he's hailed as a wizened old guy that everyone admires. Nobody's ever said he was an inappropriate father figure for Lucky and Lulu and Ethan. Nobody but Luke, who constantly warns them not to look at him as a role model. It doesn't matter what he says, though, because Luke's revered nonetheless.

3. Jason's Choice. There's never been any ambiguity about Jason Morgan. He's a mob enforcer, a killer for the Corinthos organization. Nobody is more aware of his immoral life than Jason, and yet he's a character with integrity and nobility. Yes, he's oxymoronic, but that just makes him a more dynamic personality.

As a father, Jason gave up the rights to his only son, Jake, to protect him from the mob life. He's letting Lucky Spencer raise Jake as his child. However, Jason's surrogate son -- Michael -- is a different story. Jason cared for Michael as a baby when Carly suffered post-partum depression and abandoned him.

Now that Michael has been thrown in prison, Jason is going to extraordinary lengths to protect him. He's gotten himself convicted of a felony so he can be put in Michael's jail cell to be his bodyguard. So, while Michael gets Jason's love and attention, his actual son, Jake, doesn't get to even know that Jason is his real father?