It's Never Going to Be the Same...
It's Never Going to Be the Same...
At least 100 reporters, commentators, and interviewees have said "It's never going to be the same again . . ." in the course of news coverage since the September 11 disasters at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In fact, as first observed by the ancient Greeks, you can never step into the same stream twice -- the water has always moved on, whether for better or for worse. But, indeed, our consciousness of violence in the world and of our vulnerability was changed dramatically by the actions of the terrorists. However, as I have heard those words repeated, my mind has been drawn to the thousands for whom that phrase became meaningful on the day the diagnosis of HIV infection was made. The sudden intrusion of mortality into a young life and the anxiety about loved ones are things the AIDS community knows all too well.
It has been my hope that persons informed by the emotional impact of HIV and AIDS have been a part of community responses, particularly responding to the needs of those who are grieving the sudden loss of loved ones. There is no equivalent to suddenly having 7 of 10 coworkers vanish at once, as happened in some companies on September 11, but there have been equivalent losses over a matter of months to many circles within the HIV/AIDS community. There are lessons learned from support groups and survivor networks that could be invaluable to the families and friends of the thousands who died. These are lessons to be shared.
Beyond the emotional identification and response and recovery is the further reality that many things on the policy scene are also changed immensely by the national shift to counter terrorism. Domestic policy concerns that may have gotten a fair hearing in the current Congress are suddenly banished to the bottom corner of the back page of the newspaper. Money that might have been available for international collaboration on health is suddenly going to international collaboration on intelligence and military preparedness. The budget surplus we were so anxious to reduce not long ago has faded, and suddenly increasing budget deficits are expected. And the impact on tax revenues that ripples out from the New York City financial district means that city and state agencies will have billions fewer dollars in the bank than they had previously anticipated.
Before September 11, this was going to be a column on the need for new partnerships in support of funding for HIV-related policies and programs. Such a focus seems even more appropriate now. We are in the midst of a great increase in funding for biomedical research, and the search for answers to questions about preventing and treating retroviral infection will benefit. This funding is happening because of a powerful alliance forged to support the doubling of our national funding for biomedical research. HIV and AIDS research advocacy groups became a part of the lobbying effort, understanding that requests for funds for one disease quickly became interpreted as opposition to funds for other conditions and could lead to less money all around. The same dynamic can apply to all efforts to ensure resources specific to HIV and AIDS in any area in which our overall investment is inadequate to meet the real human need.
At least 100 reporters, commentators, and interviewees have said "It's never going to be the same again . . ." in the course of news coverage since the September 11 disasters at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In fact, as first observed by the ancient Greeks, you can never step into the same stream twice -- the water has always moved on, whether for better or for worse. But, indeed, our consciousness of violence in the world and of our vulnerability was changed dramatically by the actions of the terrorists. However, as I have heard those words repeated, my mind has been drawn to the thousands for whom that phrase became meaningful on the day the diagnosis of HIV infection was made. The sudden intrusion of mortality into a young life and the anxiety about loved ones are things the AIDS community knows all too well.
It has been my hope that persons informed by the emotional impact of HIV and AIDS have been a part of community responses, particularly responding to the needs of those who are grieving the sudden loss of loved ones. There is no equivalent to suddenly having 7 of 10 coworkers vanish at once, as happened in some companies on September 11, but there have been equivalent losses over a matter of months to many circles within the HIV/AIDS community. There are lessons learned from support groups and survivor networks that could be invaluable to the families and friends of the thousands who died. These are lessons to be shared.
Beyond the emotional identification and response and recovery is the further reality that many things on the policy scene are also changed immensely by the national shift to counter terrorism. Domestic policy concerns that may have gotten a fair hearing in the current Congress are suddenly banished to the bottom corner of the back page of the newspaper. Money that might have been available for international collaboration on health is suddenly going to international collaboration on intelligence and military preparedness. The budget surplus we were so anxious to reduce not long ago has faded, and suddenly increasing budget deficits are expected. And the impact on tax revenues that ripples out from the New York City financial district means that city and state agencies will have billions fewer dollars in the bank than they had previously anticipated.
Before September 11, this was going to be a column on the need for new partnerships in support of funding for HIV-related policies and programs. Such a focus seems even more appropriate now. We are in the midst of a great increase in funding for biomedical research, and the search for answers to questions about preventing and treating retroviral infection will benefit. This funding is happening because of a powerful alliance forged to support the doubling of our national funding for biomedical research. HIV and AIDS research advocacy groups became a part of the lobbying effort, understanding that requests for funds for one disease quickly became interpreted as opposition to funds for other conditions and could lead to less money all around. The same dynamic can apply to all efforts to ensure resources specific to HIV and AIDS in any area in which our overall investment is inadequate to meet the real human need.
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