Circumcision - a letter to a friend.

Dear X

We probably have irreconcilable differences on some points but I think
I must also have expressed myself poorly. So here is an attempt to make
things crystal clear. I hope you will now understand why I used the
words I did.

Firstly, "mutilate" is derived from a Latin root meaning "to cut off",
so I stand by this word.

Secondly, I believe human beings are born potentially open to many or
all cultures/religions. Human beings are the vehicles for cultures and
religions, the medium in which cultures and religions perpetuate
themselves. The well-being and perpetuation of a culture and/or
religion does not necessarily correlate with the well-being of the
individuals who carry it/them and pass it/them on. Cultures and
religions can be thought of as separate living entities in a biological
sense, or even as infectious agents. That said, of course there is a
basic biological need for a sense of identity (even some infectious
agents are benign, or indeed beneficial or essential to the organisms
they infect). Looking at the history of individual human beings and
their happiness, though, I think a case could be made that the more
extreme an identity associated with a particular strand of culture or
religion (the more obviously distinct the adherents are from other
people), then the more likely those individuals who carry it are to
pass it on (and to believe in the importance of passing it on) but the
less likely that identity is to make for individual happiness or
success in the world; indeed, the more likely that group is to suffer
ostracism at best, or to be persecuted at worst. It's a basic fact of
human nature that individuals or groups that stand out from others are
likely to suffer some degree of discrimination, hostility or
persecution. It's also a basic fact of human nature that this external
hostility (whether real or perceived) is likely to reinforce the
group's identity and reinforce the power of the more extreme
fundamentalist elements. In other words, extreme cultures or religions
perpetuate themselves despite _AND POSSIBLY BECAUSE_ of the suffering
of their adherents. (Do I need to spell out how this relates to the
likelihood of success of Bush's supposedly anti-Al Kaeda strategies, or
to the history of Judaism, or to how Israeli actions are fostering more
extreme Palestinian views and vice versa, to name just a couple of
examples?)

I abhor the more extreme and fundamentalist manifestations of all
religions and cultures for this reason - because I care about the
individual human beings whose perspectives and opportunities are
blighted by them.

Now there comes a fundamental diverging of the ways, because if one
believes that it's not about individual happiness, but that
religions/cultures are God-given, the discussion can proceed no
further. From a humanist point of view I contend that any
religion/culture that effectively brands human beings from an early age
is barbaric and an infringement of what should be regarded as basic
human rights. That is my belief. You can argue about the helpfulness of
the bluntness with which I sometimes express this view, but beyond that
we are probably not going to be able to have a useful debate as I am
not a theist and I presume you are?

In other words, I believe that a child is not a chattel of its parents,
nor of their culture or religion, nor even of a particular nation.
There are certain minimum freedoms/rights that should be recognised at
the individual level and one of these is the right to decide what to do
with one's body (excepting, of course, unequivocally health-benefiting
interventions in children). This last right, in particular, should take
precedence over parents' rights to bring up children as they see
fit.

One could go into more detail about the psychological effects of
mutilation (circumcision and the like) on individuals. One thing seems
clear to me. It is surely psychologically far easier to accept that
what has been irreversibly done to oneself is correct, proper and
justifiable than to face the hornets' nest of emotional problems,
resentment and identity crisis that would be opened up by questioning
it. When people are in a state of internal conflict about something,
the last thing their psyches want is for anyone to go prodding in such
a sensitive area. I contend that the frightening hostility, verging on
violence, that one can trigger by such a statement as "I think
circumcision is a form of mutilation," lends weight to this point of
view.

Warm regards

Eric