December 01, 2003
A horrible geometry

Mother nature has a beauty all her own. Muscle fibers, perfectly bundled, arrayed in exquisite alignment, in the long muscles of C. elegans. Crystals, armies of molecules, aligned just so. Bacteriophage T4, an angular head poised on a spring arm, delicate legs poised on the bacteria's surface, a perfect landing craft for the alien within. HIV. An icosahedron, concealing within its shell nine thousand, five hundred ninety seven bases comprising a single RNA strand.

It is so small, this thing, which has caused so much misery. Perhaps its diminutive size is why it is so easily forgotten. Perhaps because it has laid waste not to, say, Connecticut or Nebraska, but instead to Africa and parts of Asia, it is so easily marginalized here. I am not a 'bleeding heart liberal', though around here, I sure pass for one. But my god. Twenty percent of adults in southern Africa are infected. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 3 million people became infected and 2.3 million people died last year. 95% of new cases are in low to middle income countries. The looming orphan crisis cannot be stopped, but it can be mitigated.

It is 21 years since AIDS was first categorized (back in the days when it was known as GRID. Gay-Related Immune Deficiency. Fabulous. Because you know, let's categorize a disease so we can excuse not taking it seriously.) And what, in my fine community, are we teaching our children this Christmas season, now that AIDS has been around long enough it could order a beer? The largest church here is examining the Advent devotions as they related to Hollywood movies. That's right. Hope, Peace, Joy and Love filtered through "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol", "The Grinch", and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." I suggest a different Advent lesson for my little corner of the world. We live in an area priviledged enough that we can manage to largely ignore AIDS. Where every fifth house has not lost the parents to AIDS (If we were Botswana, 40% of the adults would be infected). And my Advent lesson plan is not so insipid as to coo, "I hope we find a cure for AIDS soon, and we can reach out and love our fellow man, even those poor AIDS sufferers."

If I had my way, my neck of the woods would...
-Send the amount of money we otherwise spend powering the gajillion Christmas lights on the houses and shops and buildings to the World Health Organization in support of the 3 by 5 initiative, a plan to treat 3 million HIV-infected individuals with anti-retroviral medication by 2005. ARVs are the most effective regimen, yet drug prices and access prevent millions of people suffering from ever benefiting from them. We can bring Hope to a desperate situation.

-Ask every family to consider the plight of children in southern Africa, and make a year-long committment, not just at Christmas, to reach out and help. It doesn't have to be tons. But little changes make a big difference. It is our duty, not as Americans or happy middle class suburbanites, but as human beings, to help. Man, the karmic wheel will come around. Relieving children thrust into the roles of adults, heads of households, caretakers of some of these burdens may not bring what we consider Joy into their lives, but removing however much of the worry and strain we can will bring them something closer to Peace.

-Love your fellow resident of planet Earth. In every decision, in every day, we make choices which affect others. To recycle or not. Organic or not. Charitable giving or not. Electing officials who take action regarding the AIDS epidemic or not. The choices are not always easy. But I would ask my neighbors to think about the others on this earth, for we are all connected.

Nine thousand, five hundred, nintey seven bases. One little icosahedron. Buffeted in the bloodstream. It is such a small thing, but it teaches us so much. About selfishness and selflessness. About living and dying. About places so far away, and misery so close to home. It is a beautiful and terrible thing.

Posted by chicagowench at December 01, 2003 03:54 PM