There's a new day comin'

This is the most unkindest cut of all.
--Julius Caesar, act iii, scene 2

Finally. For too long has our Nation been distracted by matters of foreign policy, terrorism, immigration reform, unemployment, civil liberties, environmental protection, health care reform, and the Congressional tweeting of inappropriate photos. These matters, though weighty, should not be used to shield from view a more urgent matter, a form of domestic terrorism that, generation after generation, has striken an intimate blow at half our population.

I refer, of course, to the horrors of male circumcision.

The clear-sighted voters of San Francisco will have a chance this November to put a total and complete stop to this barbaric practice, an end to this bodily mutiliation that has resulted in so much physical suffering, psychological turmoil, sexual dysfunction and locker room humiliation to our nation's trembling men and boys.

Is it any wonder that males fall further and further behind in education and employment? Should we be surprised that teenaged boys are consumed by free-floating, unfocused rage? That males far outnumber females in the prison population? That male legislators have proven incapable of thinking like adults?

"Why is it illegal to mutilate girls, but not boys?" An anguished cri de coeur heard across America. So simple a question; such insightful reasoning. This is indeed the burning question that consumes men's minds, turning all thoughts away from supposedly weightier, but less personally compelling, matters -- like getting an education, earning a living and caring for a family.

By the time a boy reaches the age of 10, his days and nights are haunted by one overarching thought: "First they circumcised me. Then they took away my tonsils and adenoids. Then my appendix. What part gets harvested next? I can't remember it happening, but hot damn! -- I sure bet I hated it. I'm so angry at being mutilated, I'm gonna go get tattooed from head to foot, and lotsa body piercings, as well"

A supporter of a similar measure in Santa Monica announced today that she is dropping her campaign because of Jewish protests that the measure would outlaw a religious practice deeply ingrained in Judaism and ordained by Holy Scripture. I trust that no wishy-washy deferral to a minority group's religious scruples -- or to bizarre claims that circumcision should be a decision left to the parents -- will hinder the efforts of the historically more enlightened San Francisco community.

Maybe, just maybe, in a happier future world, boys will be able to grow to adulthood without suffering the horrific trauma to which my generation was subjected. Yes, a new dawn lies ahead -- too late for me, but giving promise of happier lives for those yet unborn.

Now, let's talk about parents who force kids to go the dentist while they're still below the age of consent ..... I say: Let's also ban childhood orthodontics!