December 1 is officially World AIDS Day.
You would think that AIDS rates were declining, but from some of the news reports I've seen, it's not. According to CNN.com, about 40 million people worldwide are now infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. About 3 million of them are expected to die of AIDS this year.
And, it's not just affecting people in the developing world who may not have the money or medical establishments to fight AIDS in their communities. No, my friends, it seems like AIDS rates are rising right here. About 56,000 Canadians are living with HIV/AIDS and about 17,000 don't know they have it, says The Globe & Mail.
It's not a shame -- it's unnecessary. AIDS is a disease that only knowledge will stop. We all know that have unprotected sex means that you're putting yourself in harm's way. But we still do it. We all know that if you're sexually active, you need to be tested regularly, just in case you've been infected. But we don't want to know.
We're willfully killing ourselves with our behaviour, because we know what the repercussions could be. My mom always says, God isn't a respecter of persons. Anyone who partakes in risky behaviour can get the HIV virus. Just because you're strong, young and healthy doesn't mean a damned thing to this disease.
We expect someone who's suffering with the disease to look sickly and disease-ridden, but what, really, does someone with HIV look like?
Although everyone turns up their noses, abstinence really is the only way to safeguard yourself against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. If you wanna get yours, at least, at the very least, protect yourself and wear a condom.
Stay safe.
... so fresh and so clean?
