Barebacking? Brainless.

It's been a strange four months. In September I became Miss America 1998 and began a year in which I am supposed to be living every little girl's dream. But the dreams and bright lights of the runway were quickly replaced by the harsh realities of HIV and AIDS. And the contestants, judges, and at-home television viewers have been replaced by those who are living with the disease and those who have a serious need to hear more about HIV prevention and education -- the issue I have chosen to advocate as Miss America.

Since September I have become convinced that we who care need to take stock of what the past four months tell us about where we are headed. We as a nation need to make some serious New Year's resolutions when it comes to HIV prevention. If you gather up all the relevant news clippings of recent weeks, I think you'll agree. America's response to protease inhibitors is one example. It's disturbing to many of us that triple therapy has been widely lauded as a cure when people we love are still suffering and dying. How many more times can we present the realities of this so-called panacea -- the expense, inaccessibility, and potency, for example -- before the mainstream press reports the truth?

Then we also have to deal with the related "dominoes" -- how exactly do we combat the sexual trends that have arisen as a result, misunderstanding and misinformation? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases is on the rise. The translation is clear: We're having unsafe sex now that there's a slim chance that we're closer to the end of this epidemic.

From where I stand, this trend is frightening. How can we disregard 17 years of agony, based on a single medical advance? Are we really setting aside the fact that thousands of new infections occur every day? Are we forgetting that the new medications work for only 60% of those who can access, tolerate, and afford them -- and that their use requires a drug regimen of up to 50 pills a day?

Given the knowledge of what causes the spread of HIV and what we need to do to stop it, how can we put ourselves in grave danger and then give it a cute nickname like "barebacking"? Of course the federal government won't fund condom distribution. We don't use condoms even when we have them. Or how about the reports, disputed by the Names Project Foundation, that the group is facing possible bankruptcy in early 1998? According to Philanthropy Journal, "The foundation's woes are part of a nationwide trend in which donations to AIDS charities have fallen off sharply in the face of a growing public perception that the AIDS crisis is over." Since the Names Project Foundation is about as universally appealing as AIDS organizations get, how does this bode for all the other organizations that deliver vital services and support?

We have reached yet another crossroads in the life of this disease. Practically every American is aware of AIDS, and most want the epidemic to end. But we need to make a clear choice -- a choice not to leave the responsibility to activists, government, or nonprofit groups but to take the lead ourselves. Risky behavior should be viewed as stupid, not trendy. And the public needs to know that the crisis is not yet over.

Despite recent discouragements, the New Year offers an opportunity to reenergize our concern for others. We have the ability to stop HIV in its tracks. The answer is prevention, and it's the only solution we have until a cure is found.

Shindle will serve as Miss America until September. During the course of her reign, she will travel the country on a speaking tour focusing on her platform, "On the Way to a Cure: Preventing HIV Transmission in America."