Extremes

It's a little late so I'm not thinking entirely clearly (I also continue to suffer from the bitterness alluded to in my earlier post, which muddles my thinking) but reading this article reminds me of something, something very very bad. As a friend was noting the other day, all extremes are bad, but this just strikes me as insane and unacceptable. Now part of that is that I am sort of wildly open-minded and any restrictions on anyone strike me as unacceptable. But part of it is that this just isn't what it's about. And I don't care what the rabbis say or condone, it's just not. And I'm going off on a limb here, but religion is about good, positive things, and if someone needs to change how he/she lives, there is a positive way to address that. And anyone with any background in helping people improve their lives can tell you that except in unusual situations, the sort of treatment alluded to in the article will not result in an improved life, for anyone involved. And it depresses me because I was planning a trip to Israel and now I'm second-guessing myself.