When Randy Shilts published his harrowing, well-documented story of the AIDS epidemic in 1987, it was supposed to be a cautionary tale. What happened?
Here's a question for you. Do we ever really learn from history, and if not-- are we truly doomed to repeat it?
Since we are in the midst of yet another viral epidemic, I decided to re-read And The Band Played On; a non fiction masterpiece by Randy Shilts that painstakingly chronicles the cultural, medical, bureaucratic, scientific, sociological, and politically correct debacle that was the AIDS crises.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have probably given fifty copies of this book away over the years-- especially to young gay men in an effort to warn them that when push comes to shove; we are ultimately all in this thing alone.
That may seem cynical, but having lived through the AIDS crises as a young man in his late teens and early to mid-twenties, I think I have some credibility in discussing the matter. Especially since those just a few years (or in some cases-- a few months) older that me, were literally expunged from the earth, and even those that made it through the first early bouts of the disease, did so for no more than a few years.
When I was in my early twenties, we spent our Saturday mornings cleaning-out apartments. Behind me as I write this, I have is a watercolor on silk of Vishnu that was painted by my next door neighbor in San Juan just before he died. I have (and never will) part with it. It is a constant reminder of what was a watershed moment in my life and my generation.
Maudlin posturing aside, I encourage all people who have never read this book to do so immediately, since it is a textbook example of how politics, science, bureaucracy and political correctness can unite to kill a whole lot of people very quickly.
Some examples:
Local governments resisted telling people to avoid having sex because they didn't want to affect the local gay economy and/or appear politically incorrect or judgemental.
The president was roundly blamed for not acting quickly enough or taking more decisive action; even through this was primarily a local government issue for San Francisco and New York, and those governments resisted federal involvement. Its also bears noting that congress was equally silent on the matter, and had Jimmy Carter been re-elected, it is doubtful he would have been any more vocal-- since he was terrified of the gay caucus and its effect on his southern political base.
Once the vectors were discovered, the very group most at risk for infection, failed to socially isolate themselves and/or heed health warnings, as they felt it was a violation of their civil liberties.
And so on.
No one can know for sure what might have been but, we do know that had people just stayed calm and followed the advise of doctors to refrain from selfish behavior, a lot less people would have died.
Epidemics are not a game. Despite the inclination to attribute evil motives to random acts of nature; natural selection is more deadly than human design. And human antipathy, arrogance, ignorance, and hubris are collectively more deadly still.
Isolate, relax, and curl up with a good book. May I suggest you start with And The Band Played On. Its available on Amazon in every conceivable format to include Kindle. Enjoy and stay safe!
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