A Decade of Disappointment
From worldwide wars to the reuniting of the nation, the social, political, economic, and international events of the United States always seem to be under a state of change. One very imperative time in America’s history was the 1980 decade, this was a very hostile and displeasure able time. From the discovery of AIDS to an all out boycott of the Olympics by the United Sates and Russia, and a national tragedy caused by the space-shuttle Challenger disaster, these societal events caused major changes to millions of people spread over many nations. The prominence of AIDS was the most socially significant event of the 1980s as this lethal virus is still a massive problem not just in the United Sates, but across the entire globe.
Introduction
I. Discovery of AIDS
A. The Discovery of The Disease in 1981
B. First Blood Tests on AIDS and The Beginning of AIDS Awareness
C. The Advancements Made on AIDS1985
II. 1980 & 84 Olympic Boycotts
A. Soviet Union’s Advancement into Afghanistan
B. The United States and Soviet Union’s Rotation of Olympic Boycotts
C. The Ending of The Olympic Feud
III. Space-Shuttle Challenger Disaster
A. NASA’s Development of The Space Craft
B. The Launching and Disastrous Explosion
C. Ronald Reagan’s Announcement and The Aftermath
IV. The Beginning of the AIDS Epidemic is the Most Significant
Conclusion
A Decade of Disappointment
From worldwide wars to the reuniting of the nation, the social, political, economic, and international events of the United States always seem to be under a state of change. One very imperative time in America’s history was the 1980s decade, this was a very hostile and displeasure able time. From the discovery of AIDS to an all out boycott of the Olympics by the United States and Russia, and a national tragedy caused by the space-shuttle Challenger disaster, these societal events caused major changes to millions of people spread over many nations. The prominence of AIDS was the most socially significant event of the 1980s as this lethal virus is still a massive problem, not just in the United Sates, but across the entire globe.
In 1981 doctors in New York and San Francisco began to have male patients that had begun to develop rare opportunistic infections and cancers. These diseases were not affected by treatment and the patients seemed to have a common link, a common blood condition. This condition is now known as AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome but would not be named until 1983 by Science magazine (Institute Pasteur).
In the early 1980’s, reports were appearing in California and New York of a small number of men who appeared to have rare forms of cancer and pneumonia (Blumberg). The men were young and in very good health (Blumberg). These men were alike because they were homosexual (Blumberg). They had a disease known as AIDS, which is caused by HIV (Blumberg). The virus slowly attacks the immune system which makes the human body more prone to infections (Blumberg). They did not know what the disease was for a while (Blumberg). It was believed to be “gay-related” because homosexuals were many of the first reported cases (Blumberg). That belief was abolished when scientist found out that heterosexuals could be infected too (Blumberg).
Even after the disease and its modes of transmission had been correctly identified, fear and ignorance remained widespread. In the mid 1980s, “AIDS hysteria” became a well known term in the media and public life. For example, a magazine published details about how extensive AIDS/HIV related discrimination became. “Anxiety over AIDS in some parts of the U.S. is verging on hysteria,” the authors wrote; they later published this disturbing example:
Carl Zimmer the guest speaker of this broadcast states that in 1981 doctors described for the first time a new disease, a new syndrome which affected mostly homosexual men. The young men in Los Angeles were dying and the number of cases was growing faster and faster. The number of deaths was increasing from eighty to six hundred and twenty five in just the first few months. After the first few cases in LA, AIDS was declared to be one of the deadliest pandemics the world had ever seen after the plague in the Middle Ages.
“Bathes Roland (1977) “The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or women who produced it.” The values, beliefs and attitudes of George Orwell’s can easily be seen in the novel 1984, as no text is neutral. These values attitudes and beliefs are communicated in the novel through socio-cultural context and by the use of certain discourses, ideologies, and historical influences. The invited reading of 1984 is that absolute power is problematic as evidenced by a totalitarism regime.
In the early twentieth-century, many people felt as if their societies were headed for a horrible downfall. With the Great Depression taking place, many people found great comfort in those individuals who rose to the occasion to help the people. Those such as Hitler, who promised jobs and a better life, also provided a scapegoat, just as Big Brother did in 1984, written by George Orwell. However, there were also those individuals who felt that the world was going to come to a rapid end if people did not learn to appreciate the things that had been given to them, as William Yeats speaks of in "The Second Coming". In both pieces, the author has a very evident fear of the future and what is to come.
Randy Shilts set out to make monumental changes in the world’s perspective of AIDS. He planned to enlighten, motivate, and educate the population on this tragic disease that has already claimed so many lives. He believed that virtually all the misconceptions about AIDS would be corrected and the public would insist that more be done to stop the epidemic. "I had hoped to effect some fundamental changes. I really believed I could alter the performance of the institutions that had allowed AIDS to sweep through America unchecked" (220). Shilts’s immense expectations positioned him for his inevitable sense of failure. He did not accomplished all that he had planned. AIDS was still spreading and people were still dying. "The bitter irony is, my role as an AIDS celebrity just gives me a more elevated promontory from which to watch the world make the same mistakes in the handling of the AIDS epidemic that I hoped my work would help to change"(220).
The Movie “And the Band Played On” is the framework of the earliest years of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Also known as the Gay disease. The movie examines HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States in the earlier 1980’s and emphasizes on three crucial components. An immunologist with knowledge in eradicating smallpox and containing the Ebola virus, joins the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to attempt and recognize just what this disease is. The film also deals the administration and government side that does not seem to care. The homosexual community in San Francisco is separated on the nature of the disease but also want to know what should be done
As a result of the discovery of AIDS, the gay community suffered greatly at the hands of social alienation. “AIDS” was not called “AIDS” until the CDC changed the different name that singled out the gay community as the only ones that could acquire the disease. After some major controversy the gay bathhouses were closed down, because it was believed that the AIDS virus was spreading greatly in these places. The gay community also suffered major emotional trauma as very little was known of the disease and little could be done about it. ___
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized as a new disease in 1981 when increasing numbers of young homosexual men succumbed to unusual opportunistic infections and rare malignancies (Gallant49).During this time, many people were contacting this disease because it was not discovered yet and people did not have knowledge about it.Scientists believe HIV came from a particular kind of chimpanzee in Western Africa. Humans contracted this disease when they hunted and ate infected animals. A first clue came in 1986 when a morphologically similar but antigenically distinct virus was found to cause AIDS in patients in western Africa (Goosby24). During this time, scientists had more evidence to support their claim about this disease. Once discovered this disease was identified as a cause of what has since become one of the most devastating infectious diseases to have emerged in recent history (Goosby101). This disease was deadly because it was similar to the Black Death, it was killing majority of the population. Since its first identification almost three decades ago, the pandemic form of HIV-1 has infected at least 60 million people and caused more than 25 million deaths ...
Our nation came a long with our new creativeness, our fearfulness, and our new militaristic ways. Although all of the generations since the 1900’s ended up playing a roll in the way America is sculpted, the 90’s were the final push into the new century. The final push that was made as a nation was defiantly beneficial for America and the rest of the world also. Today has been impacted dramatically from the changes in culture from the 1990’s and is still feeling the effects of all three most significant points of this era.
AIDS is a deadly disease that affects people world wide. AIDS is a disease that brings about many social consequences. Many of these consequences result in physical, emotional, and economic problems. AIDS compromises the immune system of the human body, making a person susceptible to many different illnesses and infections. Among these are: unexplained fatigue and weight loss, night sweats and flu-like feelings. These infirmities can interfere with a person’s daily physical tasks. For example, taking a shower, eating, working, excersing, caring for a child, and cooking. Being unable to perform these tasks makes an n individuals life extremely difficult. Individuals with AIDS also experience a number of emotional problems because of the social stigmas attached to AIDS. For instance, a person having to be scared to let others know he or she is infected, and being unable to engage in intimate relations without infecting others. Further emotional problems can be caused with the continuous worry of death, which can inhibit a person’s normal functioning .People who have these issues develop a great deal of emotional problems because one feels that they do not fit into society. AIDS is not only a disease that affects an individual, but it also affects the larger society . This is so because of the financial needs to help fund programs and organizations to help stop the spread of AIDS and help those who suffer from AIDS. Although, the money goes towards helping AIDS victims it is costly for tax payers, when it can go towards helping people and developing educational programs within their communities. Why should the population pay for the bill for the consequences of others? As one can see, AIDS doesn’t only bring about consequences that indirectly affect individuals, but it also brings about consequences for society as well.
In the movie And the Band Played On, stakeholders’ interests stymied public health efforts to research and implement health policy to control the rapidly emerging disease, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The stakeholders within the movie, those whose interest would be impacted by policy change, included the affected populations, scientists, state and federal public health officials, and organizations including blood banks. Early in the epidemic, the Center for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were tentative in disclosing vital information – many homosexual men were becoming infected in the bathhouses (Pillsbury, Sanford, & Spottiswoode, 1993). Despite having the supporting evidence of patient zero and a sexual cluster
1984, a novel by George Orwell, represents a dystopian society in which the people of Oceania are surveilled by the government almost all the time and have no freedoms. Today, citizens of the United States and other countries are watched in a similar way. Though different technological and personal ways of keeping watch on society than 1984, today’s government is also able to monitor most aspects of the people’s life. 1984 might be a dystopian society, but today’s condition seems to be moving towards that controlling state, where the citizens are surveilled by the government at all times.
This study used content analysis to identify dominant AIDS-HIV themes in the manifest news content of AP, Reuters, AFP, ITAR-TASS, and IPS. A systematic random sample of AIDS-HIV stories disseminated by the five wire services between May 1991 and May 1997 (both months included) was obtained. This decade was selected because several empirical studies of coverage in the 1980s have been conducted; however, few studies examine the 1990s.
Today we will explore the speech given by Mary Fisher at the 1992 Republican National Convention entitled “A Whisper of AIDS”. The main purpose of Mary Fishers Speech “A Whisper of AIDS" was to promote awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic throughout the United States. Moreover, Fisher wanted it clear that no one, regardless of race, sex, age or any discriminatory factor, is safe from Human Immunodeficiency Virus because the virus only cares that one is a human being suitable of infection. However, the central idea of Fisher’s address was to establish awareness that those living with the affliction of HIV/AIDS are still people and deserve the compassion we’d give anyone else.