EDITORIAL
A renewal of AIDS awareness is needed

It's disturbing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an upswing in the number of new AIDS cases in the United States.

The most worrisome trend was a 7.1 percent increase in new HIV infections among homosexual and bisexual men, the third year in a row that the number has risen, the CDC reported.

HIV and AIDS, of course, are no longer a mystery. One wonders if adding to the ongoing AIDS education wouldn't be wasted effort.

What the trend seems to show is complacency. Americans don't think AIDS can happen to them — or if it should, that pharmaceutical "cocktails" have the effects of the disease under control. Such thinking is dangerously mistaken.

It also suggests a pervading apathy, even a diminished sense of self-worth, that leads to excessive risk-taking in many areas of life — drinking and taking drugs, unsafe driving, continued smoking , etc.

Hawai'i has made strong strides in AIDS prevention, particularly with an innovative needle exchange program. We must not lose that momentum.

We don't have to tell you the measures you must take to protect yourself. You know them by now. What we do need to tell you is that you're worth it.