In my time working on Cosmic Awareness, I’ve found that in Western society, we have a tendency to approach the news with this terrible aloof attitude. If the news is too depressing and overwhelming - we shy away and hide from it, assuming someone else is going to take care of it, so there’s no need to linger about.

[Someone else over there will deal with someone else’s problem; over there, not here.]

And, as I’ve learned - it’s an effect that seems to double the further the ‘problem’ is away from home! I’ve begun to affectingly call it, ‘the Aloofness Effect’.

[If the world has a problem - it’s up to the world to solve it; not me.]

Well, AIDS is devastating the world; that’s a fact. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa (1.6 million deaths in 2007) and Southern Asia (270, 000 deaths in 2007). Statistics hard to hide from. But we still do. Ok sure, that’s so far away from home - but, is it? AIDS is here as well.

Approx. 1.3 million people are living with HIV in North America today, with an estimated 250,000 Americans not yet aware they are infected. And even with treatments on hand (as opposed to the difficulty other nations have) Approx. 21,000 people still have died this year from the disease! As well, 46, 000 new cases of infections were discovered this year in North America alone!

That’s here, folks. Fighting AIDS is not a choice; it’s a duty. There is no ‘turning off the news and waiting for someone else to figure it out’. It’s all here.

They estimate that 25 million have died from the AIDS since 1981. Now, what’s the population of Canada again? Oh yeah… approx 33 million. Hmm… That means - if you were to deduct the amount of fatalities from AIDS from the population of Canada - you’d have 8 million people left. The same amount of people estimated to be living in New York City today. Think about it.

Now, I could throw statistics like this at you all day (and just might!! If I could actually hit people with them…) but, I know what some of you are thinking; ‘Well, what the heck can I do?! You want money? My soul? What?! I don’t want to feel guilty - I’m just trying to enjoy my morning muffin and coffee!!’

Well, sure you could donate. There are tons of great charities to choose from (like theglobalfund.org). And sure, you could donate your time and volunteer in many of the facilities here and abroad for patients infected with HIV.

But, what I’ve discovered over the time I’ve spent writing these CA strips and rants, is something pretty remarkable. Something so simple - yet, one of the most powerful things someone can do in this day-and-age.

It is by simply fighting the ‘Aloofness Effect’. Become aware. And then; spread that awareness.

Next time ‘AIDS’ is mentioned on the 6 o’clock news, tell your partner to stop chewing so loud and watch the clip. Next time you’re flipping through the newspapers on your lunch break and see an article about AIDS - take a second and read it. Next time you’re bored to tears and surfing the internet - click on some of the fact sites about HIV. Sure - reading/watching all this might not be the happiest things on the planet… but it does something amazing! It plants that seed of awareness and fights the aloofness in the brain!

And, then the next time you hear a politician speak, you can judge them by what they say about the epidemic. You’ll know if what they are saying is truthful to the facts and the weight of the issue. You’ll know for yourself if that candidate is concerned enough and doing enough to fight it. You’ll know if they are just fuzzying the subject to gain favor. It may not be the most important issue you’ll be concerned about with electing an official - but at least it will be a concern, as opposed to before.

And then you will have that concern the next time you approach that ballot box. The next time you discuss politics with a friend. The next time you answer questions from your children about it. I mean - there’s no need to point out what the statistics might be like for our children if we don’t act now. Or were we all being too aloof to notice that part?

Be aware. Spread that awareness. It’s so simple.

Fanatically yours, J.E. Mills.

(Be aware)

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 9:13 am and is filed under Cosmic Ranting!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.