A hypothetical "cultural relativism" question

[tpfkaw]

Here is the scenario:

One day, you wake up 100 years from now in your home country.  Among the many things you find have changed, one is that a political or moral position that you hold, one which you firmly believe and is near and dear to your heart, is now considered by virtually everyone to be evil and obviously wrong.  It is seen the same way as supporting slavery or denying the Holocaust is seen today.  Expressing such a position would lead one to be ostracized from polite society or even put in prison in some countries.

What is your reaction?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Cultural relativism =/= self-preservation instinct.

[barfbag]

Cultural relativism works to an extent but there comes a point where there's a right and a wrong. There's no need for suicide bombings in the name of one's religion regardless of what culture someone is from. I think there's a certain set of ethics we can all agree with. At the end of the day it comes down to treating others as they'd like to be treated.

[DC Al Fine]

Cultural relativism =/= self-preservation instinct.

Keep my head down unless pushed to do said act/position.

[Franknburger]

Why not give a more specific example:
Female circumcision, a standard practice in several African cultures, is typically regarded as a violation of basic human rights.
Last year, a German court ruled the same applying to male circumcision, if carried out without consent of the boy, or on boys younger than fourteen. This caused a massive uproar in the German Jewish and Muslim communities, leading to the German parliament issuing a special law that male circumcision (though illegal under the German constitution)  shall not be prosecuted if carried out by a doctor or a comparably qualified professional in line with traditional religious prescriptions.
Is such legislation a legitimate way to apply cultural relativism to human rights, or should human rights (in this case the right to stay physically unharmed) be absolute? What does it mean with respect to female circumscription?

[angus]

What is your reaction?

Are you kidding?  This sort of thing happens to me constantly.  Nearly every day I hear about some incredibly stupid law that has been passed.  I bitch and moan about it to anyone who'll listen and nine times out of ten I'm shocked to find out that the people actually support it.  

I guess I'd continue to whine and bitch and moan about it.  But that's really all I do.  I complain a lot, but so far I haven't taken up arms against the state.  My level of commitment to both liberty and equality is high, in principle, but my lifestyle can't really accommodate the commitments of a full-time insurrectionist.  I'd think about lending my spare time to all kinds of subversive behavior, but honestly I have to admit that all I'd really do is complain.  At least to the point just before I got kicked out of the bar over my views, or got hit over the head with a pool cue.  I'm opinionated, but I'm not crazy.