So i'm afraid i've posted another deep blog (or at least deeper than the stories). But its stuff that i run into due to being in another country and I figure maybe someone might find it interesting. enjoy.
Why is it that the one thing that has created a more advanced world, the one thing that has eradicated diseases, the one thing that has benefitted mankind beyond belief, is also the one thing that has killed more people than anything else, the one thing that has isolated more people than anything else, and the one thing that causes society to come to a standstill?
There is an advertisement that is on the TV here quite often and is actually kinda annoying as advertisements go. But the whole premise behind it is very powerful. The advertisement is two babies talking to each other about how they are not HIV positive because their mothers tested when they became pregnant and started on treatment. The ad continues and then, at the end, a voice says “A HIV-free generation is possible.” The first time I heard that I was dumbfounded. It is such a simple concept. People have been trying to find a way to cure HIV for the longest time (which, by the way, I think is very important and we still need to keep striving to find the cure). But the trouble is, even if they do find a cure, it will most likely be insanely expensive. Too expensive for many of the people that need it. And then this one simple idea about testing to avoid passing on HIV to the next generation comes along. This idea which, undoubtedly, has been around for a while, could completely eliminate HIV from the world. That is huge. It got me to thinking though, because, really, it seems so simple, so easy. Almost too easy.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, that one thing that I’m talking about in the first paragraph is the human mind. It is what we pride ourselves on. It is the thing that, supposedly, makes us different from all other animals. Ideas have formed from the human mind that have shaped the course of history; that have caused scientific discoveries to be made; that have enabled us as people to live longer and more comfortably. And yet, the human mind was also the cause of the enslavement of millions of African; it was, and is, the cause of the enslavement and trafficking of millions and millions of children, children who should be leading normal lives, going to school and making friends. The human mind has caused the destruction of nations, simply because one person, or a group of people, wanted something for themselves.
That ad about the HIV generation is simple; arguably the simplest solutions to the problem of HIV. And it has the potential to work. But the thing is that there are many people in this world and with many people come many ideas, many religions, many beliefs, and many different ways of doing things. This is where the idea in the advert meets its biggest barrier. If you were to tell someone who believes in the practice of the traditional healer that medicine is better, they would think you’re ridiculous. Likewise, if someone thinks that HIV is a punishment from God for doing something evil, and you tell him otherwise, he won’t agree with you. Once we think we know something indefinitely it is next to impossible to convince us otherwise. (See the connection now). Once we are bent on a certain task, there is almost nothing that can stop us. And once we decide that our way, our belief, our whatever, is right and all the other are wrong, we are ruined. The only barrier that the “HIV-free generation” idea has to face is the barrier of the human mind. And the sad thing is that might be where it meets its end.
But this is about more than just one advertisement and one idea that could change the world. We all need to realize and take this on board. Because, we don’t know everything and we need to be able to consider other ideas. A very smart man by the name of Aristotle (I think you’ve heard of him) once said that “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” I couldn’t agree more. We should all have something that each of us thinks is true and something that we each take a stand on. But we should also be able to consider other ideas without immediately branding them as stupid or ridiculous. If we aren’t able to do that, then we are done, and some of the greatest progresses that human beings could have made, will be lying in ruin.
Thank you for your time.
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