EDITORIAL
Condom ads react to
growing AIDS threat
Next time you sit back in your favorite arm chair, kick
up your foot anti turn on your TV. stay tuned for the com
mercials. A new federal campaign is being aired in an
attempt to persuade viewers to practice safe sex with latex
condoms or else practice abstinence.
This type of TV ad is the first in a bold media campaign
of its kind. The Reagan administration drew the line on
promoting condoms with a man slowly pulling a s<x;k on
and leaving tin* viewer to figure out the rest. (Obviously
that wasn't too effective.) The Clinton administration,
taking a more liberal role, sponsored the ads in hopes
of addressing the issue in a more direct way They seem
to have done an effective Job witli the clever 30-s«cond
spots.
As tin* deadly AIDS virus spreads and continues to
he incurable, it seems the time has i ome to latim h a cam
paign of this magnitude. Although it is incurable, it is
easily preventable, and those new ads address just that
point. Of course there will (k\ as usual, the offended peo
ple watching a condom fh across a room splitting (lie
sheets of a not-so-stcamy sex scene, but maybe it is time
to offend someone. It is. without a doubt, time to do some
thine.
This first stop is <r good one, but another step and anoth
er after that needs to be taken as well. People have been
bombarded with HIV prevention, so much so that they
are nearly turning the other way. These new condom cam
paigns reinforce the simplicity of prevention, as well as
increase awareness.
Critics have noted that the campaign fails to address
the majority of the people that are infected with the HIV
virus, male homosexuals. However, the new' ads never
roally use the gender of the people as a factor. Regardless
of whether they do or not. the point is irrelevant — the
message is prevention. Condoms, when used correctly,
or abstinence, help prevent the spread of the HIV virus.
The issue of abstinence was encouraged mainly by the
networks themselves, fair enough and important enough
as well. This just adds to the effectiveness of the cam
paign by reinforcing the benefits of abstinence that seem
to be easily overlooked in this day and age.
The campaign was designed to target people between
the ages of 18 to 24. This is a good place to start, but a
second step needs to focus on those who are oven
younger.
Younger people have contracted the HIV disease not
even knowing what it is or let alone how to prevent it.
A well-designed educational process enlightening the
youth as to the mechanics of the disease and the ease of
prevention would benefit everyone. Since this obvious
ly isn’t happening in the home, it needs to bo done else
where, and the best option is in the schools. It seems like
a waste of time to educate the youth of this country but
leave out the education of a life-threatening disease.
The clever ads that will air soon are a beneficial step
in tlio fight to eliminate the HIV virus Until a cure is
found, steps have to continue in the direction of pre
vention. A 30-second TV commercial may seem like a
small step compared to the realm of the battle, but it is
a step, and another must follow.
Emerald
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OPINION
Not all forms of life are equal
Dank Thorn
Every morning, us I walk
across the Bean Complex
parking lot on my way to
< lass. I pass a van whose
bumper proudly declares that
"All forms of life are equal " No
matter how many times 1 read it.
it never fails to make me snick
er.
Now I'm aware that the entire
env i momenta list/consorvat ion
ist paradigm cannot hope to be
i aptiired on a single bumper
sticker, but even if I bad to listen
to on hour's worth of arguments,
I doubt I could ever be con
vim ed that all forms of life are
equal It's a very green way of
looking at things, hut it |ust
doesn't hold up to itnv serious
si rutlnv
f irst of all. if all life were
equal, then I would be a mur
derer millions of times over. I've
killed enough microscopic life
forms since I got up this morn
ing eating breakfast using
antiseptic mouthwash, walking
across the gross to deserve the
electric chair Vet no one seri
ously thinks I should he pun
ished for these heinous c rimes
Why? He< nuse no one really
thinks all forms of life are equal.
Environmentalists have an
easier time convincing people
not to kill bigger creatures. My
question is. where (and for what
reasons) do you draw the line? If
it's OK to kill little things, like
microorganisms and mosqui
toes, then why isn’t it OK to kill
a deter or a dog or even a whale?
We value larger animals over
smaller because we recognize
that not all forms of life are
equal (and because the larger
animals are more likely to be
immortalized as Disney charac
tors) If we t an agree that some
animals an- superior (read: more
valuable) than others, why can't
we similarly admit that humans
are superior to animals?
I have to admit that I am
shamelessly pro-human; if 1
have to i house between one
human life and a million single
celled amoobns, I'll choose the
human every day of the week.
But even when the st ales are
more balant ed — say. between a
human and a dolphin, for
instance — it’s still easy for me
to sav "bet Flipper die!" Kvon
the most impressive non
humans on earth are still not a
match for their homo sapien
counterparts
One reason is intelligence.
Zoologists have vet to determine
conclusively whether animals
understand "cause and effect"
or to what extent they can com
municate with each other
through language But the
answers to these questions don’t
make any difference when it
comes to e\ alnating the supori
orit\ of humans to animals It’s
the applit ation of intelligent e
that makes humans special
Suppose dolphins have equal
intelligence to humans, but just
don't bother to list* it They just
swim around in the sou. think
ing deep thoughts, hut never
apply their intelligence or
knowledge toward anything but
the basics food, companionship
and sleep (do dolphins sleep?)
Even if dolphins have such
intelligence (which 1 seriously
doubt), they still would come up
short in a mati hup with human
ity, because they don't apply the
intelligence that they have at
their disposal.
In essence, humans are better
manipulators of their environ
ment A pot-l>ellied pig couldn't
have planned the Apollo mis
sions; no orca whale could have
discovered a cure for polio.
Humans are smarter than ani
mals — pure and simple.
But there's more to this dis
cussion than just intelligence.
There are other characteristics
...humans are
better
manipulators of
their environment.
that set humans apart from all
other creatures. One of the most
convincing of these characteris
tics is embodied in the conser
vationist movement itself.
What are the messages of this
movement? In essence, environ
mentalists and conservationists
want to shape human behavior
— make us kill only when nec
essary. use only what we need,
conserve natural resources and '
preserve endangered species.
They want us to "Save the Plan
et." Like most other rational »*
people. I think that saving the
planet is a very good idea.
Hut in asking us to practice
conservation, environmentalists
are asking humans to suspend
their natural animal instincts
No other animal is expected to
curb its consumption in order to
save the planet; animals, left by
themselves, will eat entire
species into oblivion, and not
feel a shred of remorse II the\
are capable of destroying the
environment, they probably
will And no one would consid
er it "immoral." If it were
humans doing the destroying,
however, it would he a whole
different story.
Environmentalists expect
humans to behave differently
than animals. The very fact that
they make such a demand
proves that they believe humans
to lie different than animals.
Only humans possess the
power to destroy — or save —
the environment, and the con
science to choose between the
two alternatives. That character
istic. along with a litany of oth
ers. is what makes humans — in
spite of all our faults — superior
to all other forms of life.
David Thorn is an editorial
editor for the Emerald.