And I don't say this casually. All these people made statements that even a year ago seemed unduly credulous, obviously wrong, or born out of misplaced personal loyalty. Some continue to double down on their comments, few would like to forget. I won't.

But the US government deciding to officially restrict its employees and grantees from commemorating World AIDS Day is maybe the best evidence yet that this day is actually important.

I’m personally pretty conflicted about these kinds of commemoration days. I worry it plays into the fight for attention between different diseases. And honestly, given the sheer amount of suffering it causes, every day should be World Aids Day. And World Malaria Day. And World Tuberculosis Day.