Diversity -- with the exception of homophobia -- was beginning to be commonly accepted and praised. Technology -- such as the use of DNA in criminology and the introduction of the PC -- was becoming more prominent in the lives of everyday Americans. In the Cold War, President Gorbachev asked for openness and economic freedom, while President Reagan asked him to tear down the Berlin Wall, which he did. However, the discovery of AIDS had a far more profound impact on the American people than any of these events. In 1981, the first case of AIDS was reported in the United Kingdom, and this eventually caused quite a crisis in the U.S., as it was first noticed among gay men, and then in women and children as well. People became scared because they were not sure what was causing the disease. Research continued throughout the 1980s, but the fear caused...
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