AIDS Is A Four-Letter Word

"AIDS Is A Four-Letter Word"
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Sherri Laurier


A.I.D.S. – four letters which have become the infamous abbreviation for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Those four letters spell more than AIDS to countless people. They spell fear. They spell anguish. They spell senseless fate. But most of all, they spell "why?"

To uncover the bleeding emotions that lie below the human surface, we must first examine the sources from which these feelings originate. Let’s concentrate on one such origin – society’s paranoia. Group paranoia. What exactly is paranoia and where does it begin? How is a societal aberration born? And what sustains mass hysteria?

"Paranoia. Noun. {Gk., paranous demented (madness)}… A tendency on the part of individuals or of groups toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others."

Excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness. Paranoia feeds on lack of education and understanding. It regenerates itself with gullibility. And it thrives on oppression and tragedy. Paranoia can develop from individual ideas and become universal misconceptions. But if you become paranoid, you should also be able to seek a solution to the problem. Paranoia is not a pleasant characteristic for a person or a people.

In these "modern times", it is truly sad that we cannot educate ourselves adequately in order to avoid this group illness. I say "illness" because I believe that, with proper guidance, the world will be able to be "cured" – to acquire more compassion for the persons with AIDS – and to learn how to cope realistically and rationally with a friend or relative who has been stricken with this deadly disease. Because that’s really what AIDS is. A still incurable disease, just like cancer and muscular dystrophy, except that it has different symptoms and afflictions.

Will someone ever fight so passionately to find a cure for AIDS as Jerry Lewis fights for muscular dystrophy? Present tendencies of society make it appear highly doubtful, and that makes it unfortunate for persons with AIDS. Why don’t we fight just as hard for their lives? It’s not fair to them that we don’t.

"Aberration: Noun (1) The act of being aberrant, especially from a moral standard or normal state – (2) Failure of a mirror, refracting surface or lens to produce exact point-to-point correspondence between an object and its image – (3) Unsoundness or disorder of the mind – (4) A small periodic change of apparent position in heavenly bodies due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer – (5) An aberrant organ or individual."

A societal aberration is the act of being aberrant by the majority of people. An unsoundness touring the civilized world. Again, we as a people should not exist in a state of paranoid delusion. Rumors of what AIDS is and what it might do have wrongfully become international beliefs. Can we – should we – go on living lies merely because we do not possess the courage to face the truth? To look directly at reality? There is still time to help ourselves. And to teach ourselves how to help the people who need it the most – the people with AIDS. They cannot afford to be patient and wait for us to "come around". They need our help right now.

If "loving your fellow man" is taught to us as youngsters, why then do we turn away from and punish the ones who have done just that? Who are we to judge? Society must remember that AIDS is not a disease exclusive to the gay community. But homosexuals are still the ones being unjustly harassed and discriminated against. Again, it’s just not fair.

Unlike paranoia, mass hysteria cannot be considered an illness. It is not a sickness. It cannot be cured. It is a group state of mind. An irrational one at that. Mass hysteria is self-inflicted by society itself; therefore must be treated by society. Treated with understanding, dedication and compassion. And patience. Mass hysteria cannot be expected to disappear overnight. But it can be dissolved.

These issues raise vital questions which should be addressed immediately. What steps can we take to reverse the disorder? What can we do to restore faith and trust in our fellow man? Can we really pave new avenues of hope? Indeed we can. We, as a society, must nurture ourselves into a healthy state of mind. And then maybe we can make a difference. Maybe we can provide care and love for people with AIDS. I’m sure we can even find a cure someday. Because love is a four-letter word, too.