Citizens call on President to Honor Dame Elizabeth Taylor with Presidential Medal of Freedom
06.05.2009 | Author: Lee Hiller
People from all over the United States began a Twitter campaign June 02 2009 emailing the President and Congress to honor Dame Elizabeth Taylor with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Our voice of compassion and reason Dame Elizabeth Taylor stepped forward to calm worldwide fears that had reached fever pitch by 1985. Friends and fans alike have stepped up to champion the fight to ensure she receives this honor filling the email inbox at white house.
During the highly volatile 80s HIV/AIDS crisis there was widespread dissemination of inaccurate information that resulted in public panic and fear. Newspaper and televison reports of the 1980s were mentioning a dreaded new plague, a disease with no cure. There were dire warnings from leading authors like Helen Sanger Kaplan that condoms would not protect you and Masters & Johnson warned of getting Aids from a toilet seat. In 1985 cover of Life Magazine announced No One Is Safe from AIDS fanning the flames of hysteria farther. Reported as the Gay Cancer by the media this also fueled a wave of homophobia as people looked for a way to defend their prejudice and fear.
It was in 1985 that Dame Elizabeth Taylor began calling her friends and peers as part of her personal involvement in the AIDS Project Los Angeles Commitment to Life dinner. Courageous she never wavered even when her calls were met with No and many of her peers hung up on her. Even the massive worldwide anxiety and alarm that brought her death threats would not dissuade her efforts. Her efforts bore fruit when the first Dinner saw 2,500 people pack the Boneventue Hotel and it was emceed by Burt Reynolds and included appearances by Sammy Davis Jr.,Stevie Wonder, Cher, Abigail Van Buren, Cyndi Lauper and Rod Stewart.
While fighting the prejudice the tragedy of the HIV/AIDS epidemic struck her dear friend Rock Hudson. During his struggle to live hateful letters arrived indicating it was Gods punishment and that he deserved to die of HIV/AIDS. This was a time that Dame Elizabeth Taylor began to work with Dr. Michael Gottleib, Hudsons doctor a hero of the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Then in September 1985 she announced the merging of Dr. Gottleibs National AIDS Research Foundation and Dr. Krims AIDS Medical Foundation to create amFAR. With the help of Dame Elizabeth Taylor amFAR and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation has raised a combined total of over two-hundred and seventy million dollars to date.
In the 1980s Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s gift to the world was twofold. She saved us from becoming hate filled bigots fueled by misinformation and transformed us into understanding caring individuals. The second gift was to give hope to patients via amFar and later, The Dame Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation both lead the way to find effective treatments for the many with HIV/AIDS. The impact of both of these gifts makes Dame Elizabeth Taylor the true face of freedom as her work freed so many from a certain death
No comments:
Post a Comment