Some demand that circumcision should be mandatory.
Others take the opposite view and want to ban it altogether.
My question is: Are you out of your f-ing minds?
In what universe does it make sense for the government to dictate what its citizens can and cannot do with their own (or their children's) genitals?
Why do you even think it is for you to decide what others can and cannot do with their own (or their children's) genitals?
Making circumcision mandatory certainly would not fly. While it probably has health benefits (or at least feels cleaner and less unsanitary) 2/3 of the male population of the world manages to live perfectly normal lives uncut.
There are cultures, and religions that are dead set against any modification of the human body, and it would be nearly impossible to sell them the idea that all males have to be cut.
Advocates who want to ban circumcision usually claim that it is a human rights issue.
But the only states that have successfully managed to prevent people from practicing circumcision were oppressive dictatorships with complete and utter disregard for human rights.
The ancient Romans had an aversion to circumcision and have even banned it at times. We are talking about the same people who have fed early Christians to lions as a form of entertainment.
Genghis Khan has banned circumcision in his empire.
Joseph Stalin and the soviets strongly discouraged it.
In Nazi Germany it was a death sentence.
So you want to ban circumcision as a human rights violation? But it seems you have to violate a lot more rights to do it. Do the ends justify the means?
Is it justifiable to imprison or kill everyone who happens to disagree with you?
I can accept that people prefer to make their own decision about making after market enhancements to their own bodies.
Which contrast with some cultures that are biased towards performing circumcision at an early age, before one is capable of making the decision for himself.
E.g. In North America, circumcision has become the cultural norm. Even though circumcision is justified as a means to improve hygiene it is more of a cultural idiosyncrasy than preventative medicine.
Yet many people have expressed deep cultural attachment to it. They are happy that they were circumcised according to the American tradition right after birth, and intend to pass the custom down to their offspring. If they see value in the custom -- even if for no other reason than that it gives them a sense of belonging to a tradition -- what gives you the right to take it away from them?
That is the nature of human culture, people don't do something because it is logical -- something perceived as "ours" can be automatically regarded as valuable.
Just think long and hard: Would you be willing to give up your American passport for a foreskin?
Or would you move from South Korea to North Korea just to avoid the cut?
I did not think so....
And if -- perhaps in a haste -- you have answered yes, I am sure a couple of weeks in a gulag would change your opinion and you would want to live under a less totalitarian government even if it cannot prevent its citizens from practicing circumcision.
Disclaimer: I personally believe that circumcision is something one should choose for himself.
But that is my opinion not the undeniable truth that everyone must accept.
Some are horrified by the mere mention of circumcision and would have nothing to do with it.
Others have very strong religious and/or cultural convictions (or they are simply obsessed with hygiene) that makes circumcision so important that they feel the need to impose it even on their children.
You cannot tell people that they must give up their religion, family tradition, or health concerns simply because you don't like them.
You cannot force others to follow your obsession with cleanliness, your religion, or your traditions either.
So whatever your views are on circumcision, try to behave like a mature adult and do not invite the nanny-state to meddle in it.
