What is And The Band Played On?
1.
A book about AIDS that ultimately was made into a HBO movie. The story follows two scientists trying to find a cure for AIDS. They fight again the Republican party, who doesn't want them to waste money on searching for this disease's cure because it is a "gay" disease. The right-wingers do everything they can to take away the scientist's money to prevent them from using it on AIDS research. But every day, more people keep on dying and getting infected, including one of the two scientists. In the end, he dies from a disease that could have been prevented, but Ronald Reagan let it become an epidemic. It spread from gays to heterosexuals through blood transfusions and even through "normal" sex, as the Republicans call it, as if being gay is wrong. Finally France and America both find the virus that causes AIDS and each propose a cure. France asks for America's help, but America, wanting to claim the cure as only its own, refuses. If America had stopped being so arrogant, we would have a cure for AIDS. But now the virus has adapted and become immune to the cure, and is too widespread to be defeated. While it is true that the potential cure does postpone death, we could have had a cure. Another wonderful thing to thank America for. Other people suggested ideas for how to stop the spread of the disease, including one Republican's idea to make "gay villages." Even Ronald Reagan, was against helping those infected by AIDS because it was a "gay" disease. He didn't say the word AIDS on TV until 5 years after it became public knowledge. He would avoid mentioning it or call it GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency). The movie is very powerful, especially when the one scientist has to tell a mother that she has AIDS from a blood transfusion because Republicans rejected a bill to force mandatory blood searches for the AIDS virus. Also the end, when they show all the people that have died from the disease that shouldn't have died and wouldn't have had liberals had their way.
Because of the Republican's hatred for gays, AIDS has become an epidemic. Don't believe me? Watch the movie or read the book.
