Recent readings about the “Modern Plague” flooded my mind with new information, personal stories, and astonishing statistics about HIV/AIDS. Similarities among the articles were not hard to come by as all three dove deeper into the subject of this devastating disease. The main idea that stuck out to me was globalization. AIDS is not a disease isolated to those, for example, in Africa; it can affect anyone and in fact, does in some way affect us all. In the first reading for the week, Lorber and Moore draw attention to the fact that “Globally, AIDS is the fourth highest cause of death.” As a universe, every person shares a piece of that statistic. I can remember a time when I was younger where I believed that AIDS was a disease for only those in Africa. All I was exposed to in the media (magazines, television, newspapers, etc.) kept headlining “AIDS in Africa.” I see now how naïve my perceptions were about the disease; unfortunately, there are many (even adults!) who carry that idea. Before we can fully start our fight against HIV/AIDS, people need to be aware and willing to know more about the disease. Until a recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy, I had no clue that AIDS wasn’t really heard of in the United States until the 80s. Beyond that, most people referred to it as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). America was guilty of stereotyping and creating a national/worldwide belief that AIDS was a disease of urban, homosexual (most often Caucasian) men. This screams to me how closed-minded we must be and have been about new developments and obvious evidence supporting a cause for change. Now that our perceptions have changed, many people remain with the closed-minded attitude. Only now, since it’s commonly heard of as affecting those in Africa, we seem to think that AIDS here is a big problem. Since we don’t see it everyday, it’s not our problem right? How can people honestly believe that? Perceptions need to change. To make that necessary change, people need to become more aware.
Thinking about this change and need for awareness simply brought up a new problem for me. Our class has examined commercials, advertisements, articles, and book excerpts about HIV/AIDS. There is an entire month dedicated to AIDS awareness in the U.S. Organizations, groups, and individuals have protests, marches, and rallies to raise awareness. Television shows feature the disease as a main topic. People are standing on the streets in condom suits, begging others to use condoms. For heaven’s sake, all this dedication to AIDS awareness should be making a difference! But the results are yet to be found. What more can we do? How far do we have to go for everyone to realize how important this fight is? It’s a global problem that not everyone in the universe is recognizing. My biggest fear is that substantial progress can’t be made without more awareness.
This globalization idea is something we all need to take notice of; we all play a part in creating history throughout the world. So what can I do to help reduce the false ideas about AIDS? Open my ears and eyes, learn about it, then open my mouth and help tell others. If they aren’t willing to do the work themselves of absorbing the information, I can do my best to encourage them to. We’re all affected somehow. Therefore, we all have a role in preventing, treating, and creating awareness about HIV/AIDS.
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