HIV and AIDS

Good afternoon everyone. Today I would like to inform you

all about HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, and AIDS,
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Statistics show that about
35% of AIDS cases have been in the age group of 20-29. Now
many of you may already know that AIDS has a long period
between infection with the virus and the appearance of
symptoms. Meaning that some of those people between the ages
20 and 29 probably contracted the virus when they were
teenagers. Being that most of us in this room fall near or in that
age range, my goal today is to inform you of how the virus is
contracted, symptoms of disease, and most importantly, the best
way to go about taking more precaution into preventing this fatal
disease.

AIDS is preceded by HIV infection. HIV can only be

transmitted three different ways. (1) The first is through sexual
contact. This is the most common way HIV is contracted. It can
be passed when an infected person has vaginal or anal
intercourse with another. (2) The second way this deadly virus is
transmitted is through exchange of blood. This method of
transmission is now almost entirely limited to people who inject
drugs and share needles. This type of contact between an
infected person and someone else is the second most common
way this virus is passed. HIV can also be contracted through
blood transfusions. Now blood transfusions are far safer now than
they were in the early years of the AIDS problem. (3) The third
way is from mother to child. Sadly, most children with HIV
contracted it from their injected mothers during pregnancy or
childbirth. If the woman is infected, her child has a 50/50 chance
of being born with the virus. Once, or it, this virus is contracted
through these ways, the symptoms of the HIV infection may not
appear for a long time after the person gets injected.
Initial symptoms of the HIV infection are usually the same
as those of minor illness like the cold or flu. The symptoms are
tiredness, swollen lymph glands, fever, loss of appetite or weight,
diarrhea, and night sweats. The presence of these may indicate
an HIV infection. Nor being able to know right away if your illness
is minor or major is just one of the complications this virus
carries. A person cannot determine themselves if he or she has
the infection. So if you think you might, the best thing to do is to
see a healthcare professional so that they can diagnose your
condition. If a person has contracted the virus, these symptoms
lend to become more severe over a period of time. Since AIDS is

the last stage of a long period of HIV infection, the number of

AIDS cases is like the tip of a very large iceberg. Acute HIV
infection progresses over time to asymptomatic HIV infection and
large to advanced HIV or full blown AIDS.

The best ways to prevent and reduce the risks that are
related to sex are: (1) sexual fidelity. It is unlikely that a
monogamous couple will become infected with AIDS. (2) Practice
safe sex. For example, the proper use of condoms is one
imperative this virus from entering ones body. (3) Careful
selection of partners. In other words, do not have sex with just
anybody. Make sure your partner has not had several sex
partners, does not use intravenous drugs, and make sure its not
someone who has had any sexually transmitted diseases. (4)
Avoid multiple sex partners. Simple as that, the more sex
partners a person has, the greater the chance of getting an HIV
infection. And last but not the least (5) sexual abstinence. This is
the most certain way of not contracting AIDS. This is also the
healthiest choice of all of the above. There are no worries of
contracting any sexually transmitted disease and people who are
abstinent usually have fewer problems than those who get
sexually involved too soon. Furthermore, the best way to prevent
and reduce risks related to drug abuse is to not use intravenous
drugs. The prevention of AIDS requires a lot of self-discipline and
strength of character. The requirements often seem personal
restrictive but are very effective and can save your life.

Same-Sex Marriage

Imagine youve found the person you want to spend the

rest of your life with. Youre completely in love and you want to
get married. But you cant. Youre not allowed to. You dont get
to have a wedding reception; no vows, no exchanging rings, no
walk down the aisle. You are also denied the legal rights that
come along with marriage. If your partner gets sick with a
terminal illness, you may not be allowed to visit them in the
hospital because you are not their spouse. If they die from that
illness, all their worldly possessions could go to a distant cousin
because you arent married, even though you two were partners
in almost every other way. Unfortunately, these are some of the
hardships that gay and lesbian couples face every day. And, the
sad thing is most of the arguments keeping same-sex marriage
are flawed and reactionary and are based upon nothing more
than prejudice, ignorance, bigotry and fear. Same-sex marriage
should be legalized because lesbian and gay couples are good
parents, because homosexuality is a common occurrence in
nature, and because the laws keeping same sex-marriage from
being legalized are old and outdated.
Those against gay and lesbian marriages often use the
argument that homosexual couples are unfit parents and cannot
produce a child without help from a 3rd party. So, therefore, they
should not be allowed to marry, since the sole reason for a
marriage is to produce a child. You will see that the arguer has
already contradicted themselves. If the main reason for a
marriage is to produce a child, then why are sterile couples
allowed to marry? And why does the arguer call gays and
lesbians unfit parents when no credible study has ever found
that to be true? A study done by Nanette Gartrell (a professor of
pediatrics at the University of California) and Henry Bos (a
behavioral scientist at the University of Amsterdam) showed that
children with lesbian parents may be doing even better than
their peers. On average, children raised in lesbian homes had
higher grades, more self-esteem, and were less likely to develop
behavioral problems.
The last of the top three arguments is that same-sex
partnerships are short-lived and non-monogamous; therefore,
gays and lesbians should not be allowed to marry. This argument
is so outdated its almost laughable. It may have had some
credibility, say, 50 years ago, when divorce was a rare
occurrence and adultery was a crime. But, nowadays, over half of
heterosexual marriages end in divorce. Nowadays, 57% of men

and 54% of women have admitted cheated on his/her spouse.

Marriage is no longer what it was fifty years ago.
There are many other arguments against gay marriage,
each as refutable as the rest. If no convincing arguments can be
made, and all that is stopping two people from legally spending
the rest of their lives together is the prejudice and ignorance of
people who refuse to listen to the facts, why are people who love
each other not allowed to be married? Discrimination and hatred
are wrong. Love knows no boundaries. Love does not care if the
two people are different races. Love does not care if the two
people are the same gender. Love does not care how different
peoples social background is. Love is blind to differences and
similarities. There is only one truth that people should never
forget: Love is love.