| Check out what Editor-in-Chief Justin Fritscher of Louisiana State University's The Daily Reveille has to say on a couple of issues of concern to young people today.
The first is that we should not be satisfied with tolerance, that we should demand fairness: It's time to push for equality in gay rights.
It's 2008, and our society still has made few strides to accepting everyone irrespective of their sexual orientation.
Complete acceptance of the gay community looms somewhere in the horizon, but we can get there sooner if we demand fairness.
Tolerance vs. Fairness is a crucial theme.
A fundamental principle of our experiment in self-government is we are all equal. Tolerance amounts to little more than being allowed to exist, and itself is not sufficient to sustain a government of, by, and for the people.
This is a call for a movement, for hope of a better future - no matter whom you love. For all the gay men and lesbians who are members of this University community, don't settle for mere tolerance - it's just a euphemism for failure.
Fairness, by contrast, is the high aspiration set forth for our government, even though it was a goal to require the ongoing work of generations. That work continues today. Justin is right to speak out, demand fairness, and encourage his fellow students to do the same.
The second pertains to another issue of fairness, individual choice and autonomy over our own bodies: Circumcision should not be decided by parents.
Every day, smiling men and women slice off newborns' foreskins - a process rarely questioned and of little benefit.
Doesn't anyone think of the children?
Just because foreskin is not needed to survive, it does not mean it should be cut off at birth. Why not take a single kidney out of each newborn?
It violates human rights, and parents should stop an outdated tradition and cease circumcising their children at birth. Parents should let their sons decide when they reach the age of maturity.
Young people are bound to be disturbed by circumcision when they learn accurately what it is. Discovering and becoming comfortable with their own sexual identity is a process challenging enough without the added complication of having been sexually modified by surgery. The realization that such a significant body alteration was merely a societal custom, and not in any way medically warranted, can lead to anger and resentment.
Were there no lasting effects, a pointless surgery in infancy might be easily overlooked by young people. But the surgery impacts sexual function for a lifetime:
Studies also show the circumcised penis, in addition to health risks, is much less sensitive. The foreskin has about 240 feet of nerves, and this absence of sensitivity can impact sexual pleasure.
Justin is making a difference by raising awareness amongst his fellow college students, putting them in a position to make better decisions for their children some day.
When it comes to how we treat each other, and how we expect government to treat us, our young college students have valuable insight on equality and fairness. They contribute a fresh perspective essential to achieving our greater aspirations.
We all stand to benefit when, like Justin Fritscher, young people aggressively reason on what is right and wrong in society, and then proceed to express themselves and take action. |
