Individual global responsibility.

• Author: Basualdo, Pedro Alejandro
• Position: Essay

My primary impulse to write an article on HIV/AIDS came from my fundamental desire to contribute and to collaborate. I realize that my behaviour is founded upon a deeply-rooted sense of duty, a strong commitment, and a profound necessity Psychologists refer to attitude as the disposition of a person confronting the world (the psychological view), which, once transported to a social setting, becomes values (the sociological view).

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In this respect, therefore, allow me to coin the term "individual global responsibility:" a concept which embodies the attitude of an individual who, as a global citizen, demonstrates a profound sense of respect for human rights and dignity. Indeed, acting with individual global responsibility implies feeling an intense ethical and moral obligation to take positive action, starting with the understanding that in the world there are fellow human beings who are suffering and who have a right to be helped and supported. To be a global citizen means being aware of this obligation and this right.

It is impossible not to feel anger, indignation, or rage when witnessing human suffering in any form. The individual global responsibility incites to rebellion and action which, in turn, must be transformed into an ethical and moral obligation to help those who suffer from hunger, extreme poverty, lack of education, all forms of discrimination (sex, colour, race, religion, social or political status), as well as those who have suffered a cataclysm, or are faced with certain death due to neglect of care, lack of resources, lack of information, or endemic structural corruption.

I am not, by any means, discounting social mechanisms of solidarity. On the contrary, I am advocating for their intensification and consolidation. Indeed, countries have shown efficiency in their organized response to catastrophes--the fight against HIV/AIDS is a clear example and deserves credit. (1)

Yet, social actions alone are not enough: commitment must stem from a deeply-rooted desire in each and every one of us, for it is impossible to forget the irrational clamour for eugenics during the 1980s, and the stigma associated with HIV/ AIDS due to previous experiences with diseases such as leprosy, tuberculosis, and cancer. And how could we forget all the myths surrounding the horrible ways by which those suffering from HIV/AIDS died? How could we forget the segregation and isolation forced upon those...