To the Editor:
Your April 6 editorial, “Lost in Translation,” missed the point in the immigration debate. Yes, Miami became what it is in no small part due to multiculturalism, and various ethnic groups have added wonderful dynamics to this city. The same is true for all cities where immigrants have clustered.
However, I must concur with Huntington’s notion that immigrants must share in the American dream “in English.” Many of us grew up never suspecting that we’d have to learn Spanish, but now we wonder if we’ll be able to succeed without it – yet we lack the time and energy to learn it. If people are going to live in America, they ought to learn English rather than make the country accommodate them by learning their native tongue. The same should hold true for any immigrant in any other country.
An ever-more-significant minority acts like it can come to America and still pledge its first loyalty to its countries of origin. There are more than a few American-born children of Hispanic nationals who do this because they can get away with it, and I suspect the problem stems largely from our country’s bumper supply of illegal aliens. That is the real problem. People who have no respect for our borders (and therefore our laws) probably don’t have too much respect for us or for our culture in general.
We should welcome immigrants who come to pursue the American dream and appreciate the contributions they make to our culture. All we should expect in return is that they not look for handouts, break our laws or try leaving language barriers between themselves and the general public – common courtesy, really.
Sincerely,
Nicholas G. Moses
To the Editor:
A recent column posed the question of circumcision being an unnecessary, inhuman surgery. Opinions are personal, but medical and historical factors can’t be refuted.
Circumcision isn’t a surgery but a preemptive treatment, done with the help of anesthesia and sterilized medical equipment. It’s an attempt to avoid a series of medical problems whose chance might be increased without it.
The only medical downfall listed in the column is the supposed loss of pleasure during intercourse. While children might experience some swelling in the area for a day or two, the medical consensus is that loss of sexual feelings only happens if circumcision is performed during adulthood. Being circumcised, I can testify circumcised adults have just as much fun.
The medical upsides of being circumcised are numerous: less chance of developing serious kidney infections than uncircumcised ones, less chance of acquiring STDs – including HIV – and less chance of invasive cancer of the penis. Circumcised men are less susceptible to developing eczema, psoriasis and phimosis. The only solution: immediate circumcision, no matter the age.
While one could argue the ethics of parents deciding for newborns, the law allows parents to decide for their children’s medical procedures up to 10 or 14 years of age, depending on the situation.
Finally, circumcision isn’t a practice only of Jews or Arabs; it has been performed by tribes from Africa to Australia, with no related religious affiliation, for many years. In today’s society you don’t need to belong to any one religion to be circumcised – people got smarter than that.
Sincerely,
Danny Paskin