Prison

Anyplace that won't let you out once you get in is a prison. You can quote me on that, Sweet Thang.

There are jobs like that. If it's hard to get out of a job, it's a prison. You should always have an escape clause written into your contract because it's just too important to miss. It seems underhanded, or like you're trying to get out of an obligation, but have one anyway.

But I'm not really interested in talking about jobs. I'm really talking about apostasy, which is a fancy term for leaving once you're in. And it only applies to religion.

Apostasy is actually a more complicated term than my simple definition, but the long and the short of it is that if you are a member of a religion and then leave, you're an apostate. But what apostasy really means is double standard. If you aren't a member of a religion and you become one, you're a convert. If you are and you cease to be one, you're an apostate. The former seldom carries any negative connotation beyond being a newcomer to the religion. The latter carries the death penalty in the extreme.

I'm not just talking about Muslims, so please don't get up in arms. Apostasy is an old Christian term anyway. So while Islamic Fundamentalisms use apostasy as a weapon against what they view as heretical or anti-State elements, they aren't the only ones. Cults, for instance, tend to frown on people leaving the fold, usually because they fear these people will divulge secrets. Other religions simply blackball the ex-members (albeit that some religions blackball anyone who isn't a member of the religion, a ludicrous concept in and of itself) and forbid any contact with them. So it's all over the place.

An interesting comparison could be made between apostasy and emigration. The difference, of course, is that many nations resist "converts," i.e. immigrants, more fiercely than they resist "apostates," i.e. emigres. But look at places that are difficult to leave. They aren't usually places you'd want to live, are they? That's a leading and condescending question, but it really ought to be pointed out: places that are tough to leave, even temporarily, tend to be fairly unpleasant places to be. Why else would they make it hard to leave?

I could back this up with examples but there are numerous ones and I don't want to pick on anyone. I'm just wondering why apostasy should be such a problem? If your religion or country is so terrific that no one wants to leave, why should you even have a punishment for it? If, as you claim, you have no problem, why mention that you have no problem in the first place?

Forcing people to stay makes where you are a prison. I don't want to live in prison, and I'm pretty sure no one else does either. I know the counter arguments, but they all run up against a fundamental problem; if it's so great, why punish people who leave at all? Why not just pity them for leaving? Are you afraid it might not be so great after all, or are you simply keeping people from leaving because you know it's not so great after all?

Look over any situation you enter into, and if you can't get back out somehow, you should ask why not. I don't care if you don't think you ever will want to get out; if you're not allowed to, there has to be a reason why, and it's likely that the reason isn't as pleasant as it ought to be.