Elton John is accustomed to singing for audiences all over the world. But the scariest performances he’s ever had to put on were for the US government. Over the years, he’s made a number of nerve-wracking presentations to urge leaders to help him in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
One of John’s key points in his activism is that HIV has starkly revealed which people the world cares least about.
When it comes to fighting contagious disease, we’re all connected; we can’t pick and choose who to help. Discrimination against marginalized people (men who sleep with men, or Africans, for example) only makes the problem worse. The only way to truly eradicate HIV is to treat everyone affected by it equally.
John says the formula for eradication is empathy plus compassion and hard work. Learn more in our Instaread on Love Is the Cure.
