ADDRESS

ORIGINAL

BY

C, EVERETT KOOP, MD, ScD
  SURGEON GENERAL

       OF THE

    U, S, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
U, S, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

PRESENTED TO THE 59~~ GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
UNION OF AMERICAN HEBREW CONGREGATIONS
        CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
        NOVEMBER 2, 1987


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(GREETINGS TO HOSTS, GUESTS, FRIENDS, ETC,)

   I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK TO

YOU THIS MORNING,  I'M PLEASED TO GIVE THE KEYNOTE FOR THIS SPECIAL

PROGRAM DEVOTED TO AIDS,

  MAY I ALSO SAY THAT I RECOGNIZE AND APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP

SHOWN BY THE U,A,H,C, ON THIS VERY DIFFICULT ISSUE, TWO YEARS AGO

IN LOS ANGELES RABBI SCHINDLER PRESENTED THIS ORGANIZATION WITH THE

CHALLENGE OF DOING SOMETHING ABOUT AIDS,

   AND SINCE THAT TIME, YOUR NATIONAL U,A,H,C, COMMITTEE ON AIDS,

HEADED BY DR, BORIS O'MANSKY, HAS PRODUCED A GREAT DEAL OF USEFUL

INFORMATION ON THE SUBJECT,


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  AND I'M THINKING IN PARTICULAR OF THE

MATERIALS PREPARED FOR USE AMONG THE YOUNG

CONGREGATIONS,

IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE U,A,H,C, WAS

MANY EDUCATIONAL

PEOPLE OF YOUR REFORM

THE FIRST NATIONAL JEWISH

ORGANIZATION TO STEP OUT AND TAKE THIS LEADERSHIP POSITION, I THINK

YOU DESERVE A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT FOR DOING THAT,  I MIGHT ADD THAT

YOU HAVE ALSO EARNED THE THANKS OF A NATION SORELY TRIED BY THIS

TERRIBLE DISEASE,

   SO, WITH THESE KINDS OF FACTS IN MIND, I WAS HAPPY TO ACCEPT

RABBI SCHINDLER'S INVITATION TO ADDRESS THIS SESSION OF YOUR 1987

GENERAL ASSEMBLY,


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BUT, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I HAD ANOTHER REASON TO SAY, "YES,

I'LL COME,"

  THIS WEEK I WILL PASS THE HALF-WAY POINT IN MY SECOND TERM AS
THE US, SURGEON GENERAL, DURING THOSE 6 YEARS, I'VE SPOKEN TO
CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND EPISCOPALIAN VESTRYMENwTO BAPTIST MINISTERS
AND PRESBYTERIAN ELDERS,,,TO MORMON BISHOPS AND NAVAJO MEDICINE MEN,

  BUT THIS MORNING'S SPEECH WILL BE MY FIRST FORMAL, INVITATIONAL
PRESENTATION TO AN ASSEMBLY OF RABBIS AND JEWISH LAY LEADERS,

SO I WOULD SAY THAT TODAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,, ,TODAY IS MY

BAR MITZVAH,


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I GUESS HOWEVER OLD YOU ARE, IT JUST TAKES AN AWFUL LONG TIME

TO GET TO THIS POINT, BUT I MADE IT,

  HOWEVER, I MUST CONFESS THAT, FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD, LAST

WEEK AND THIS WEEK WOULD NOT BE EASY WEEKS IN WHICH TO COME OF AGE

AS A MEMBER OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY,

  IF THIS WERE MY REAL BAR MITZVAH, I WOULD HAVE HAD TO WRESTLE

WITH A PARTICULAR PORTION OF THE BIBLE, THE STORY OF ABRAHAM EARLY

IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS,,,AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT,,,TRY TO MAKE IT A

PART OF MY OWN LIFE,, BAND, THE HARDEST THING OF ALL, TRY TO SING IT

IN FRONT OF MY LOVING FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS,


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  FORTUNATELY, NEITHER YOU NOR I WILL GO THROUGH SUCH AN ORDEAL

THIS MORNING,  AND I PROMISE TO SPEAK -- NOT CHANT -- THESE FEW

PAGES OF REMARKS

  BUT AS I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BENCHMARK EVENT, I BEGAN TO WONDER

JUST HOW MANY MODERN YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN -- JEWISH OR NON-JEWISH AND

READING GENESIS FOR THE FIRST TIME -- I WONDERED HOW MANY OF THEM

WOULD ALREADY BE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE OUTLINES OF THAT STORY,

  IT'S THE STORY, YOU REMEMBER, OF A MAN AND HIS WIFE AND HIS

NEPHEW -- A KIND OF STEP-SON -- WHO PACK UP AND LEAVE THEIR HOMETOWN

IN UR OF THE CHALDEES TO SEE WHAT THE LORD HAD IN MIND FOR THEM IN

CANAAN,

  THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT ABRAM AND SARAI, AS THEY'RE CALLED WHEN

WE FIRST MEET THEM -- AND LOT, OF COURSE -- WERE TOLD IN SOME

UNUSUAL AND SUPERNATURAL WAY TO LEAVE TOWN AND GO SOUTH,

BUT YOU AND I KNOW THAT -- EVEN TODAY -- SUCH ABRUPT DEPARTURES

ARE NOT UNUSUAL AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE,


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  IT WAS A CONFUSING TRIP FOR ABRAM'S LITTLE FAMILY NEVERTHE-
LESS, THERE'S A GOOD DEAL OF WHAT MODERN READERS COULD CALL -- AT

THE VERY LEAST -- "DEVIOUS BEHAVIOR" ON THE PART OF ABRAM,

  THEY WANDER AMONG STRANGERS, TRYING TO MAKE DO,, ,THEY

OCCASIONALLY EMBARRASS THEMSELVES -- AND EMBARRASS EVEN us, SEVERAL

MILLENIA LATER,

  AND THERE'S SOME STICKY OPPORTUNISM, TOO, SO THAT -- ALL IN ALL

-- IT'S A PICTURE OF A NOT UN-TYPICAL MODERN AMERICAN FAMILY,

  I WOULD THINK THAT ANY MODERN-DAY YOUNG PERSON READING THIS

STORY -- ESPECIALLY READING IT IN THE KIND OF ILLUSTRATED BIBLE THAT

1 GREW UP WITH -- WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT ABRAM AND HIS FAMILY NOT

ONLY ACT LIKE -- THEY EVEN DRESS LIKE -- THE CHARACTERS IN FALCON

CREST,


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BUT SOMETHING ELSE WAS GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME, AND THAT IS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTER OF THIS MAN CALLED ABRAM,

   AND IN THIS COMING WEEK'S PORTION -- OR SO I'M TOLD -- YOUR

CONGREGATIONS WILL BE READING THE NEXT PORTION IN THE BOOK OF

GENESIS, THE ONE THAT HAS THAT EXTRAORDINARY PASSAGE -- THE PASSAGE

THAT SHATTERS ALL PRECEDENTS IN RELIGIOUS LITERATURE UP TO THAT TIME

-- THE PASSAGE IN WHICH ABRAHAM HAS THE "CHUTZPAH" TO BARGAIN WITH

THE LORD,

  THE LORD WANTS TO DESTROY SODOM, BUT ABRAHAM ARGUES THAT .THE

LORD MIGHT HAVE TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF NOT-VERY-NICE

PEOPLE, IN ORDER TO ALSO SAVE THE LIVES OF AS FEW AS 10 RIGHTEOUS

PEOPLE,


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  I USED THE WORD "CHUTZPAH," BUT I TAKE THAT BACK, ABRAHAM HAD

TO HAVE SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST NERVE OR BRAVADO TO ARGUE WITH THE

LORD,

  AND YOU REMEMBER THAT THE LORD PRESENTS HIS CASE UNTIL, AS THE

BIBLICAL WRITER TELLS US VERY LACONICALLY, "THE LORD STOPPED

SPEAKING TO ABRAHAM AND WALKED AWAY,"

  OF COURSE, THE LORD HAD SPOKEN TO ABRAM BEFORE, WHEN THE MAN

WAS 75 YEARS OLD, PROMISING TO MAKE HIM A GREAT NATION, TO BLESS

HIM, AND TO MAKE HIM, IN TURN, A BLESSING TO OTHERS,
        THEN, WHEN

"ABRAM WAS 90 YEARS OLD AND 9," THE LORD TALKED TO HIM AGAIN AND

CHANGED HIS NAME TO "ABRAHAM," THE FATHER OF NATIONS, AND THEY

ENTERED INTO THE HISTORIC COVENANT,


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  BUT DURING THIS LATEST DIALOGUE OVER THE FATE OF SODOM, I THINK

THE LORD WAS HEARING MORE THAN JUST BRAVADO AND "CHUTZPAH" FROM THE

NEWLY NAMED ABRAHAM, I THINK HE WAS HEARING A NEW VOICE OF AWARE-

NESS% OF COMPASSION, OF HUMAN DIGNITY, maCALL IT WHAT YOU WILL,,,BUT

IT WAS CLEARLY A NEW VOICE OF FAITH,

  AND I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT, AT THAT MOMENT, THE LORD KNEW THAT

ABRAHAM WAS RESPONDING TO HIM IN A NEW WAY a, ,THAT ABRAHAM WAS BECOM-

ING A NEW KIND OF RELIGIOUS MANmA RESPONSIVE MAN,,,THE KIND OF MAN

THAT RABBI LEO BAECK, IN OUR OWN CENTURY, DESCRIBED AS A "REVERENT

MAN,"

  I'M NOT A BAECK SCHOLAR BY ANY MEANS AND I DON'T PRETEND TO

BE, BUT IF ANYONE EXPLORES THE ROOTS OF NAZISM IN GERMAN, AS 4. DID

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, YOU ARE SURE TO COME UPON THE WRITINGS OF

THIS EXTRAORDINARY HUMAN BEING AND BRILLIANT CLERGYMAN,


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  SO, IN PREPARING FOR OUR CONVERSATION THIS MORNING, I RETURNED

TO SOME OF LEO BAECK'S WRITINGS AND I CAME ONCE AGAIN UPON THAT

PASSAGE IN MYSTERY AND COMMANDMENT, WHERE BAECK WRESTLES WITH THE

MEANING OF "REVERENCE":

"REVERENCE," WRITES LEO BAECK, IS "MAN'S FEELING THAT SOMETHING

HIGHER CONFRONTS HIM; AND WHATEVER IS HIGHER IS ETHICALLY

SUPERIOR AND, THEREFORE, MAKES DEMANDS AND DIRECTS, SPEAKS TO

MAN, AND REQUIRES HIS REPLY, HIS DECISION,"

THE "REVERENT PERSON," LEO BAECK SEEMS TO SAY, IS A RESPONSIVE

PERSON, NOT SOMEONE WHO WILL MERELY "TALK WITH" THE LORD, BUT --

LIKE ABRAHAM --  WILL "TALK BACK", IF THE ISSUE DEMANDS THAT KIND OF

HUMAN RESPONSE, THAT TAKES BOLDNESS, AND SPEAKING VERY PERSONALLY,

BOLDNESS IS BORN OF FAITH,


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  RABBI BAECK WENT ON TO SAY THAT "REVERENCE" IS "THAT WHICH MAN

ACCEPTS INTO HIS LIFE AND WILL REALIZE THROUGH HIS LIFE," BAECK

SAYS IT IS "THE GREAT IMPELLING FORCE, THE ACTIVE ASPECT OF WISDOM,"

  ABRAHAM'S ARGUMENT WITH THE LORD IS AN ASTONISHING BIBILICAL

EVENT, BUT JUST AS ASTONISHING IS THIS PROPOSITION BY LEO BAECK,

THAT REVERENCE AND HOLINESS ARE NOT JUST A COUPLE OF NOTIONS TO SIT

AROUND AND CONTEMPLATE,

  REVERENCE AND HOLINESS REQUIRE A REPLY, A RESPONSE OF SOME

KIND,,,THEY IMPEL YOU TO DO SOMETHINGmPREFERABLY, THEY IMPEL YOU

TO TURN WISDOM INTO ACTION,


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  THAT'S CERTAINLY THE TRADITION OF THIS WEEK'S READING OF THE

ABRAHAM STORY,  NOT LAST WEEK'S ABRAM, THE STAR OF "FALCON CREST"

AND "DALLAS,"

  BUT THIS WEEK'S GREAT PATRIARCH, THE FATHER OF MANY NATIONS AND

OF THREE MAJOR RELIGIONS,

  AND FRANKLY, THIS IS AN ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TIME TO RECALL
ABRAHAM'S SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE MORAL, RELIGIOUS, AND ETHICAL

LIFE OF THE HUMAN RACE,

  AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, ON A PESONAL NOTE, THAT AFTER NEARLY 50
YEARS OF MEDICAL PRACTICE AND A HALF-DOZEN YEARS AS YOUR SURGEON
GENERAL, I CAN RECALL FEW OTHER MOMENTS LIKE THE PRESENT ONE, IN
WHICH WE NEED TO REMEMBER, ,,TO THOROUGHLY UNDERSTANDwAND TO
QUICKLY ACT UPON THAT POWERFUL ABRAHAMIC TRADITION OF REVERENCE IN
ACTION, ,,OF HOLY DIALOGUEwA TRADITION OF WISDOM PUT TO WORK,


  NOW, I CAME HERE THIS MORNING TO TALK ABOUT AIDS AND I SUPPOSE

SOME OF YOU ARE WONDERING WHEN I'M GOING TO GET TO IT, ACTUALLY, I

ALREADY HAVE, BECAUSE THE ISSUES I WANT TO DISCUSS THIS MORNING QQ

CONCERN, a,

THIS PANDEMIC OF AIDS,,,WHAT IT'S DOING TO SOME OF OUR

PEOPLE,, #WHAT IT CAN DO TO u OF OUR PEOPLE, a BAND WHAT WE MUST

BEGIN TO THINK AND DO IN ORDER TO CONQUER AIDS, THE MOST VICIOUS

OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN THE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN RACE,

LET ME CONFESS THAT, IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THIS DISEASE, MEDICINE

AND SCIENCE ARE MAKING VERY SMALL HEADWAY, RELATIVE TO WHAT HAS YET

TO BE ACCOMPLISHED,


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  IN FACT, I'LL GO EVEN FURTHER AND SAY THAT THE FINAL VICTORY

OVER THIS DISEASE WILL NOT FOLLOW THE PATTERNS OF OTHER SUCH

VICTORIES -- THE ONE OVER SMALLPOX, FOR EXAMPLE, OR POLIO,

  NO, THIS TIME, THE VICTORY WILL PROBABLY NOT BE THE EXCLUSIVE

VICTORY OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE,

  THE FINAL VICTORY OVER THE DISEASE OF AIDS WILL MUCH MORE

LIKELY SPRING FROM THE IMPELLING FORCE OF COMPASSIONATELY COMMITTED,

ETHICALLY MOTIVATED, AND COURAGEOUSLY REVERENT MEN AND WOMEN WITH

LITTLE OR NO MEDICAL BACKGROUND AT ALL,

LET ME EXPLAIN THAT OBSERVATION,


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TO BEGIN WITH, WE HAVE TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE THREE BASIC

ASPECTS OF THE DISEASE OF AIDS:

FIRST, AIDS IS STILL PRETTY MUCH OF A MYSTERY,  WE DO KNOW SOME

THINGS ABOUT IT -- HOW IT'S TRANSMITTED, FOR EXAMPLE, AND WE

ALSO KNOW HOW IT ATTACKS AND DESTROYS THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM,

BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHY IT DOES THAT AND WE STILL CAN'T PREDICT

WHEN THE AIDS VIRUS WILL -- OR WILL NOT -- PROCEED ON ITS

DESTRUCTIVE PATH, SO, FIRST ON OUR LIST IS MYSTERY,

BUT MEDICAL SCIENCE DOES NOT THRIVE ON MYSTERY,JT THRIVES ON

DISCOVERY, AND DISCOVERY STILL SEEMS TO BE SOME DISTANCE AWAY FROM

us,


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  AIDS IS A MYSTERYwBUT IT'S NOT ONLY A MYSTERY,
                  IT'S AN

ENORMOUS HUMAN CATASTROPHE,, ,A DISEASE THAT HAS AFFLICTED NEARLY

43,000 AMERICANSwOF WHOM 25,000 HAVE ALREADY DIED,

BUT YOU CAN HAVE MYSTERYwAND STILL HAVE AFFIRMATION,

YOU CAN HAVE MYSTERYwAND STILL HAVE CONFIRMATION,

AS MARTIN BUBER HAS WRITTEN, "MAN,,,REQUIRES CONFIRMATION"

BECAUSE MAN -- AND ONLY MAN -- HAS POSSIBILITIES,

  IF MANKIND IS NOW THE VICTIM OF A HIDEOUS MYSTERY, WE CANNOT

GIVE UP ON HIM,,,WE CANNOT ABANDON HIM FOR THAT REASON, RATHER, AS

BUBER GOES ON TO ARGUE, WE MUST AFFIRM HIS LIFE AND HIS CONDITION,

WE MUST "LIBERATE HIM FROM THE DREAD OF ABANDONMENT" -- THE DREAD OF

ABANDONMENT -- "WHICH IS A FORETASTE OF DEATH,"


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  SO WE CANNOT FORGET THIS FIRST ASPECT OF AIDS, ,, ITS ASPECT OF

MYSTERY,,,BECAUSE DENIAL OF MAN HIMSELF LIES AT THE HEART OF

MYSTERY, AND IN THIS TERRIBLE AND FEARSOME PERIOD, I MAINTAIN -- AS

A PHYSICIAN, AS A SCIENTIST, BUT ALSO AS A HUMAN BEING -- THAT MAN

sBE

AIDS ITSELF WOULD HAVE US DO THAT,

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN TOTAL FEAR OF AIDS WOULD HAVE US DO THAT,

AND PEOPLE WEAKENED BY THE DESPAIR OF AIDS WOULD HAVE US DO

THAT,

BUT WE CANNOT,


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IN THE FACE OF MYSTERY, WE MUST &-FIRM AND CONFIRM THE FACT OF

MAN ON EARTH,

   IN RABBI BAECK'S TERMS, TO DO SO WOULD BE OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL,

CONTEMPORARY ACT OF REVERENCE, OUR OWN PERSONAL DEMONSTRATION OF

HOLINESS IN ACTION,,,OF ACTION IN WISDOM,

  EARLIER IN THESE REMARKS, I NOTED THAT THERE WERE THREE ASPECTS

OF AIDS THAT WE NEED TO CONFRONT AND UNDERSTAND,  THE FIRST IS THE

MYSTERY OF THE THING, AND I'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT

ALREADY,


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THE SECOND FACT ABOUT AIDS IS THAT THE DISEASE IS VIRTUALLY 100

PERCENT FATAL,

   I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO THAT THE DISEASE HAS ATTACKED NEARLY

43,000 PEOPLE SINCE JUNE OF 1981 AND THAT 25,000 OF THOSE PEOPLE

HAVE ALREADY DIED,

   THAT'S THE TRUTH,, ,BUT THERE'S MORE, THE TRUTH ALSO INCLUDES

THE FACT THAT, OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD AIDS IN 1981, AT LEAST 91

PERCENT OF THEM HAVE ALREADY DIED,

OF THOSE WHO HAD THE DISEASE IN 1982, SOME 87 PERCENT HAVE

ALREADY DIED,


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OF THOSE IN 1983, 89 PERCENT OF THEM HAVE ALREADY DIED OF AIDS,

AND SO ON,

AIDS IS THE CLOSEST THING IN OUR ENVIRONMENT TODAY TO BEING A

"VIRTUALLY 100 PERCENT FATAL DISEASE,"

  WE HAVE A FEW DRUGS COMING INTO THE MARKETPLACE -- A,Z,T, MOST

PROMINENT AMONG THEM -- AND THESE DRUGS HELP PROLONG LIFE A LITTLE

BIT,,,A FEW MONTHSmMAYBE A YEAR OR SO,

  BUT WE HAVE NOTHING AT ALL, ,,NOTHING, m ,THAT WILL SAFELY AND

EFFECTIVELY STOP THE DISEASE OF AIDS IN ITS TRACKS,

WE HAVE NO DRUGSuN VACCINESmNO MAGIC BULLETSmNOTHING

THAT CAN ACCOMPLISH THAT LIFE-SAVING JOB,


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  WHAT m WE HAVE? TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, THE BEST THING AT HAND
IS OUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE TO CONFIRM THE WORTH AND THE FACT OF

MAN,

SOME PEOPLE CALL IT "EDUCATION," OTHERS CALL IT "PUBLIC

INFORMATION."  AND STILL OTHERS CALL IT "CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING,"

  ALL THOSE TERMS WILL DO,  BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME
THINGwTHAT IS, THE CONFIRMATION OF MAN, WHO IS, AS BUBER POINTS
OUT, THE ONLY LIVING CREATURE WITH POSSIBILITIES,

  WE NEED TO CONFIRM HIM, ,,TO CARE FOR HIM,,,AND TO PRESERVE HIM
FROM WHAT BUBER CALLS THE "DREAD OF ABANDONMENT, WHICH IS THE

FORETASTE OF DEATH,"  THAT, ALSO, SEEMS TO BE A CLEAR ASSIGNMENT FOR

US TODAY,


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  BUT LET'S GO INTO THIS BUSINESS WITH OUR EYES WIDE OPEN, LET'S

GO IN, RESIGNED TO THE FACT THAT -- WHATEVER WE DO -- DEATH WILL

COME,

  IT'S A GREAT MISTAKE TO UNDERESTIMATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS

SECOND ASPECT OF AIDS -- ITS VIRTUALLY 100 PERCENT MORTALITY RATE --

BECAUSE THIS FACT IS ALREADY RAISING THE POSSIBIILITY OF ABANDONMENT

IN THE MINDS OF OTHERWISE RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE,

  I'VE BEEN HEARING STORIES OF SOME PHYSICIANS AND NURSES -- VERY
FEW, THANK GOODNESS, BUT EVEN Q& IS ONE TOO MANY -- PHYSICIANS AND
NURSES WHO DON'T WANT TO TREAT AIDS PATIENTS BECAUSE OF THE DANGER

OF BECOMING INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS THEMSELVES,

  THEY KNOW AS WELL AS 1 DO THAT SUCH A DANGER IS MINUSCULE,, ,AT

THE VERY MOST,


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  AND WE ALL WATCHED THE TELEVISION NEWS COVERAGE OF THE TRAGEDY

OF THE RAY FAMILY IN ARCADIA, FLORIDA, ,,REJECTED AND EXPELLED NOT

ONLY BY PLAIN TOWNSPEOPLE BUT ALSO BY EDUCATORS AND COMMUNITY

LEADERS,

  I THINK THEY MAY BE TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING ELSE,,,SOME-

THING SO CONTRARY TO WESTERN ETHICAL TRADITIONS THAT THEY SIMPLY

CANNOT BRING THEMSELVES TO SAY IT STRAIGHT OUT, BUT I THINK THEY

MIGHT BE TRYING TO SAY,,,

"WE DON'T CARE, BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE WITH AIDS ARE AS GOOD AS

DEAD ANYWAY,"

THAT'S A HORRIBLE POSSIBILITY, I MUST ADMITwBUT IT'S A POSSIBILITY

NEVERTHELESS,


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I MENTIONED RABBI LEO BAECK BEFORE, BUT MAYBE THIS IS THE TIME

TO RECALL ONCE AGAIN HIS NAME AND VENERATE HIS MEMORY,

  FOR THIS WAS THE OVERWHELMING QUESTION -- CAN LIFE CONQUER

DEATH? -- THAT HAUNTED LEO BAECK DURING THOSE YEARS HE SERVED AS THE

RABBI OF THE CONCENTRATION CAMP CALLED THERESIENSTADT,

   THE LATE LEONARD BAKER WROTE A VERY MOVING BIOGRAPHY OF LEO

BAECK WHICH RECALLS WITH GREAT DETAIL THE WAY RABBI BAECK SPENT HIS

DAYS AT THERESIENSTADTmmSEEING HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHIPPED OFF

TO THE GAS-CHAMBERS OF AUSCHWITZ,,aKNOWING THAT HE HIMSELF WAS ALSO

LIVING ON BORROWED TIME,,,THAT HE, TOO, WAS SERVING A DEATH

SENTENCE, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD COMMITTED NO CRIME WHATSOEVER AGAINST

ANY HUMAN BEING,


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  THE TRADITION OF LEO BAECK IS CERTAINLY A TRADITION OF WISDOM

IN ACTIONmA TRADITION OF PLEADING WITH THE LORD EVERY DAY FOR THE

SAVING OF ONE MORE RIGHTEOUS LIFEunEVEN IF IT MEANS PROLONGING THE

LIVES OF MANY WICKED PEOPLE AS WELL,

  LEO BAECK REFUSED THE OFFER OF THE RED CROSS TO GET HIM OUT OF

THERESIENSTADT AND AWAY TO SAFETY, HE WOULD NOT ABANDON HIS PEOPLE

8, ,NOT EVEN THE LOWLIEST AMONG THEM,

AND IN THE END, WE CAN BE THANKFUL, LEO BAECK HIMSELF WAS NOT

ABANDONED EITHER,


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  AND THIS IS THE KIND OF MESSAGE EACH OF US, TOO, MUST DELIVER

TO THE WORLD EVERY DAY, THE INEVITABLY OF DEATH FROM THE DISEASE OF

AIDS SHOULD NOT -- BY ITSELF -- CAUSE THE VICTIMS OF AIDS TO BE

ABANDONED AND, THEREFORE, GIVEN THE "FORETASTE OF DEATH,"

WE HAVE NO REASON TO LET THAT HAPPEN,

SO THERE IS THE MYSTERY OF AIDS,

AND THERE IS THE CERTAINTY OF DEATH FROM AIDS,

  AND FINALLY, THERE IS THE THIRD ASPECT OF THE DISEASE OF

AIDS, ,,THE ONE THAT TAKES US RIGHT BACK AGAIN TO THE LAND OF CANAAN

AND TO THE CITIES OF THE PLAIN IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM AND LOT,


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THE THIRD ASPECT OF THE DISEASE IS THIS:

PEOPLE GET AIDS BECAUSE THEY DO THINGS THEY OUGHT NOT TO DO,

  AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW BY NOW, THE MAJORITY OF THE VICTIMS OF

AIDS -- ABOUT 66 PERCENT OF THEM -- HAVE BEEN HOMOSEXUALS OR

BISEXUAL MALES, FOR SEVERAL TERRIBLY TRAGIC YEARS A GREAT NUMBER OF

THEM ENGAGED IN CERTAIN HARMFUL SEXUAL PRACTICES WITH MANY ANONYMOUS

PARTNERS,

THE WORST OF THESE PRACTICES, FROM A MEDICAL POINT OF VIEW, IS

ANAL INTERCOURSE, ALSO KNOWN AS SODOMY,


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  FOR HEALTH AND MEDICAL REASONS, THEY OUGHT NOT TO HAVE DONE

THAT, BUT IT IS APPARENT THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF

AMERICANS ARE RENDERING THE SAME VERDICT FOR CLEARLY SOCIAL AND

MORAL REASONS:

"THOSE MEN DID SOMETHING THEY OUGHT NOT TO HAVE DONE, AND SO

THEY GOT AIDS,"

BUT THIS THIRD ASPECT OF THE ISSUE OF AIDS IS EVEN MORE

COMPLICATED THAN IT SEEMS,


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  IN ADDITION TO THE 28,000 HOMOSEXUALS AND BISEXUAL MALES WHO

HAVE HAD AIDS, WE MUST ADD THE 10,000 DRUG ADDICTS WHO HAVE SHARED

DIRTY NEEDLES AND OTHER PARAPHERNALIA AND, BY SUCH ACTIONS, SPREAD

THE DISEASE OF AIDS EVEN FURTHER,

AND ONCE AGAIN, THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DON'T "SHOOT"

DRUGS EITHER, BELIEVE ME, NOR DO THEY LIKE ANYBODY WHO DOES,

  IN ADDITION, OF THOSE DRUG ADDICTS WITH AIDS, THERE ARE 4

BLACKS AND HISPANICS FOR EACH WHITE PERSON, SO THERE IS YET ANOTHER

ELEMENT OF SOCIAL RANCOR AND DIVISION THAT FILLS OUT THIS THIRD

ASPECT OF AIDS,


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  IN OTHER WORDS, 90 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE DISEASE

OF AIDS CONTRACTED IT BECAUSE THEY DID THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE

BELIEVE OUGHT NOT TO BE DONE:

THEY EITHER RECKLESSLY ENGAGED IN SODOMY OR THEY SWAPPED DIRTY

NEEDLES WHILE "SHOOTING" DANGEROUS DRUGS,

NOW THAT THEY HAVE THE DISEASE, IT IS A VIRTUAL CERTAINTY THAT

THEY WILL DIE,

AND THE REST OF US WILL BE WITNESS TO THEIR DEATHS, YET WE WILL

HAVE NOTHING AT HAND TO PREVENT THOSE DEATHS,


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BUT THE QUESTION I MUST ASK IS THIS:

"WOULD WE NEVERTHELESS WORK FOR AND PLEAD FOR THEIR LIVES? IF

WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, WOULD WE HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH THE LORD

TO SAVE THEM ALL, AS ABRAHAM DID FOR THE INHABITANTS OF SODOM?"

IT SOUNDS LIKE A THEORETICAL QUESTION~~,SOMETHING TO THINK

ABOUT WHILE YOU'RE GETTING YOUR DOCTORATE IN DIVINITY,

  BUT IT'S NOT THEORETICAL AT ALL,, ,AT LEAST NOT FROM MY

PERSPECTIVE AS SURGEON GENERAL,


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  SOME DAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BIOMEDICAL CURE FOR AIDS,

WE'LL HAVE A VACCINE THAT IS BOTH SAFE AND EFFECTIVE AND IT WILL

BECOME GENERALLY AVAILABLE,

  BUT WHO SHOULD BE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO GET IT? MY GUESS WOULD

BE THOSE VERY SAME PEOPLE WHOSE BEHAVIOR WE DON'T PARTICULARLY

LIKE,, #THE ONES WHO DO THINGS THEY SHOULDN'T DO,, ,THE ONES WHO PUT

THE REST OF US THROUGH TIMES OF TERRIBLE TRIAL,

WILL WE BE ABLE TO DECIDE THAT? I HOPE SOwBUT I'M NOT REALLY

SURE WE'RE READY YET,


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  LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF AN EPIDEMIC THAT IS

TESTING NOT ONLY OUR CAPABILITIES IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND

CLINICAL PRACTICEwBUT IT'S ALSO TESTING OUR CAPABILITIES AS HUMAN

BEINGS WHO HAVE BEEN RAISED IN -- AND WHO ARE PRESUMABLY STILL

COMMITTED TO -- THE AFFIRMATIVE RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL TRADITIONS OF

ABRAHAM,

THOSE TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN TO US BY PROPHETS AND

TEACHERS,

  THOSE TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN LIVED BY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHOSE

NAMES WE WILL NEVER KNOW, BUT WHO MUST HAVE LIVED THAT WAY FOR US TO

HAVE ARRIVED AT THIS POINT AT ALL,


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  AND THOSE TRADITIONS HAVE BEEN LIVED BY SOME PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES

ARE QUITE WELL KNOWN AND REVEREDmPEOPLE LIKE LEO BAECK AND MARTIN

BUBER,, ,AND RAOUL WALLENBERG AND DIETRICH BONHOEFFER,, ,AND MOTHER

THERESA AND POPE JOHN XXIII,

  THIS IS NOT AN EASY TIME FOR US, EVEN FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE

HAD THE TRAINING AND THE EDUCATION AND THE PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENT

AND SO ON,

HOW MUCH HARDER, THEN, IS IT FOR OUR NEIGHBORS TO BE HOLY AND

COURAGEOUS, ,,TO BE CJISE,, ,AND TO BE INVOLVED?


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  RABBI SCHINDLER, I CAME HERE AS YOUR SURGEON GENERAL, NOT AS
YOUR CHAPLAIN, NOR DO I PRETEND TO THE VICAR'S ROBES AND CROWN,

  BUT SOMETIMES THOSE OF US IN PUBLIC HEALTH WILL RECOGNIZE A
DISEASE FOR WHICH MEDICINE ITSELF CAN OFFER ONLY A PARTIAL CURE,
WHILE THE SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL STRENGTH OF SOCIETY MUST COME UP WITH

THE REST,

I BELIEVE THAT AIDS IS SUCH A DISEASE AND, THEREFORE -- YOU AND

I -- WE HAVE MUCH WORK TO DO,, ,TOGETHER,

  LET ME, THEN, CLOSE WITH A FEW WORDS DRAWN, ONCE MORE, FROM THE
WRITINGS OF LEO BAECK, THEY COMPRISE A VERY TOUGH-MINDED IDEA, AND
I THOUGHT THEY WOULD MAKE AN APPROPRIATE FINISH TO THE WORDS I'VE

OFFERED YOU THIS MORNING,


37

RABBI BAECK WROTE,,,

"THE FUTURE WILL SIGNIFY THE RIGHT OF THE PRESENT; THE FUTURE

WILL GIVE ITS TESTIMONY FOR WHAT THE PRESENT REALLY IS,"

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET US PRAY VERY HARD AND WORK VERY HARD FOR A

GOOD OPINION,, ,FROM OUR COLLECT1 VE FUTURE.

THANK YOU,

#P###