Anand Sundaram
Professor George Bishop
USE2307: HIV/AIDS – From Microbes to Nations
6th February, 2015
Book Review: The Invisible Cure by Helen Epstein
Helen Epstein’s book “The Invisible Cure: Africa, The West and the Fight Against AIDS” is a powerful account of the AIDS epidemic that has hit hardest in Africa. Epstein is a scientist-turned-writer who merges 15 years of personal observations with scientific reasoning to explain the spread of HIV/AIDS in the continent. She explains why the battle against the disease has been so challenging in Africa in spite of the investment of large amounts of effort and money. Giving the example of Uganda, Epstein argues that the solution may not align with what the proverbial Western World envisions, and that it must come from the Africans themselves.
Epstein begins by relating the first time she visited Uganda in
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Uganda has seen large amounts of foreign funding in recent years, and most of this funding is either directed towards promoting condoms through advertising campaigns or advocating abstinence through evangelicalism, with almost no reference being made to partner reduction. Epstein also expresses indignation at the fact that AIDS campaigns are morphing into business opportunities due to the inflow of money. While it might be true that international programmes having no local roots tend to look for one-dimensional silver bullets which might not actually work, a lot of the funding does benefit local community based AIDS initiatives. To judge foreign-aid funded efforts as ineffective simply on the basis of lack of significant decline seems harsh and unconvincing on Epstein’s part, especially when many factors could be at
In the article “Accessing Treatments: Managing the AIDS Epidemic in Ontario in Knowledge, Experience& Ruling Relations” by George W. Smith, the author pointed out how the ideology and social construction of common knowledge about AIDS influence the treatment for those patients negatively. Smith believed the general public and government have been lack of sufficient knowledge about AIDS, the AIDS patients and the government, the organization who providing the treatment are disconnected. There are still lots of people think AIDS is fatal illness disease and mainly caused by homosexuality. Smith thinks the lack of treatment for AIDS is basically due to the homophobia, labeling and prejudices formed by the public and mass media, and the government
Aids Affects Everyone, Not just Poor On August 19, 1992, a silent killer was bought forth during the National Republican Party convention in Houston, Texas. Mary Fisher, an AIDS activist, wrote an eloquent speech about what it’s like to be infected with the silent killer—AIDS. Fisher, one of the victims of this killer, delivered to the convention information and education about who the AIDS victims are. She uses persuasive authority supporting her position by telling the nation about the silent killer—AIDS. She announced that she was not the usual suspect attacked by this killer disease.
Fischer calls out all the stereotypes that were associated with being HIV positive when she states “In the context of an election year, I ask you-here, in this great hall, or listening in the quiet of your home-to recognize that the AIDS virus is not a political creature. It does not care whether you are Democrat or Republican. It does not ask whether you are black or white, male or female, gay or straight, young or old. “ Her reasoning is both convincing and all inclusive. While she states that the virus is not a political creature she uses words that are meant to scare her audience into action.
AIDS is a condition that is caused by a condition called HIV that attacks the immune system of people, making them weaker, vulnerable and decreasing their life expectancy. This disease is transmitted by certain bodily fluids and it has affected the infectants as well as their families and friends due to social stigmas and misunderstandings about AIDS. The epidemic had a big social impact within the United States, “When AIDS appeared in the early 1980s, most of its victims were gay men. For a time the disease was known as GRID—gay-related immune deficiency. The epidemic rekindled older pseudoscientific ideas about the inherently diseased nature of homosexual bodies.”
In the reading by Peter Redman, he raises the argument that the ‘AIDS carrier” becomes the central representation of the HIV epidemic and how the representations of HIV cannot be narrowed down to one cause. In addition, the ‘AIDS carrier’ is represented as monster and the carrier spreads HIV from the deviant subpopulations to the mainstream. Also, AIDS has been connected to social and moral issues and singles out groups like gay men, black people, and young single women. These groups are then viewed as diseased subpopulations and that causes others to feel disgust and panic. The heterosexual men are then afraid to have physical or emotional contact with men in general and that’s why boundaries of heterosexual masculinity were produced.
The church’s unwillingness to involve themselves in the conversation and active efforts to cease AIDS’ increasing stake on lives, fails to live up to their roles as empathetic followers of Christ. However, much of this hesitance stems from the Bible’s direct claims that condemn homosexuality and those living in what the church deems a “sinful” life, whom God punishes with sickness, poverty, and ultimate suffering, as this only justifies this inactiveness. The church fails to save lives as much as it claims to save souls in an institution that historically prides itself in combatting oppression and restoring justice, especially from the African American church, although seeming to fail in restoring dignity. “If God’s relationship with humanity is persuasive, that characteristic should be the model for our own interpersonal relationships” because lives should not be lost from lack of intervention, resulting from the church’s condemnation of participating in intense and joyous activities, like sex and drug use, subjecting many of these followers to hypocrisy (Shelp and Sunderland 74). Sexually explicit education should have been enforced in a society where religious conservatism creates a barrier in combatting the spread of this disease, a disease like any other disease.
The AIDS epidemic began in the 1980’s and the effects of it were seen all around the globe. Each country led their own unique approach to preventing and curing AIDS, and some strategies worked better than others. The Australian response to AIDS can be considered world leading due to their multifaceted approach against the disease. Australia was successful in educating all people while simultaneously researching ways to cure the disease. Australia made a concerted effort to fight the both the physical disease itself, as well as the social stigma associated with it.
AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today. From the voice of one who knows the struggle all too well, political activist and author Mary Fisher, wrote the speech “A Whisper of AIDS”, presented at a Republican National Convention in 1992. In which she argues that AIDS should not identify a person, nor allow them to be hindered from experiences in their lives, which the Republican party can assist with. Fisher adopts a serious, compassionate tone in order to appeal to those infected with AIDS and their families. Fisher effectively convinces her audience that AIDS does not define a person and that these people deserve protection from society through the use of metaphors, meaningless words, emotional appeals and statistics.
It is believed that “ the emphasis on HIV testing and counseling without adequate access to clinical trials and appropriate therapy for AIDS evokes memories of the deliberate withholding of treatment by the researchers in the Tuskegee study” (p. 1504). Since there is no cure found to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, the only way is to educate and inform the Black community, but in a way that will benefit
She states that, “AIDS is the third leading killer of young adult Americans today,” and “two hundred thousand Americans are dead or dying,” which illustrates the heart-throbbing truth of this disastrous disease. Also, she specifies that “unlike other diseases, [AIDS] travels,” and “the rate of infection is increasing fastest among women and children,” which encourages people to take precautions and seek safety for their children immediately. These pieces of logic and statistics show the audience that AIDS is a major problem that needs to be dealt with, thereby raising awareness for the disease and supporting the authors main
Africa is the second largest continent, comprising 54 independent countries, with over 2000 different languages spoken (Boyes, 2013). It is a continent with large cultural differences and economic disparities. It is a continent that has been ignorantly mistaken and portrayed as a country by Western news media (Asante, 2013). Part of this lack of knowledge is as a result of the kind of messages the Western media broadcast when covering issues or events that affect Africa. The media are a powerful tool for shaping opinions and changing opinions of people entirely towards a particular direction.
The consequence of wars, the political turmoil in countries or simply a country in debt; these all warrant a need for foreign aid. Although it may seem like the obvious act to do, is it really the right thing to do? It is firstly important to note what is the fundamental characteristic of foreign aid and what it entails, both for a country providing and the country receiving it. The aspect of aid can take many forms, ranging from goods and services or capital from foreign country to country in need. As situations in different countries continue to take new forms, aid can also be provided concerning military, economic means, etc.
The patterns of trust and subsequent betrayal found in the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, serve to teach lessons about what it was like for African Americans in post-slavery America, when the book is set. The Invisible Man trusts easily and naively. Yet, despite working hard, he is betrayed by the institutions and people he looks up to as role models as they exploit his expectations for their own agenda. Overall, there are four strong examples of those taking advantage and hurting the Invisible Man. With each incident, he learns a lesson about how blatantly the black population is disregarded, along with being given an object that represents the underlying racism found in a society.
The protagonist in several works of literature is generally plagued by conflicting influences, adding to the overall meaning of the literary work. The Invisible Man’s narrator is the same. As the narrator struggles in pursuit of understanding his invisibility, he finds himself vacillating between influences of Dr. Bledsoe, Brother Jack, and his grandfather. Dr. Bledsoe’s beliefs and actions toward the narrator mark him as invisible, adding to narrator’s inability to advance in life. Dr. Bledsoe explains to the narrator that black people are only able to succeed when they play the white man’s game.
The movie Blood Diamond tells the story about a man named Solomon Vandy who lives in Sierra Leone. His country is in a civil war funded by the sale of diamonds. Danny Archer is the man who buys these diamonds and supplies both the rebels and government with weapons. Archer’s actions causes Solomons family to get torn apart, and Solomon to be forced to mine for the precious metal. This is where he finds the diamond that changes his whole life.