Our country's founders made a momentous choice when they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors to found this nation. Today we celebrate our country's birth and can be comforted in the knowledge that as we celebrate there are men and women from around the nation willing to make momentous choices of their own on a daily basis in service to this country in the armed forces.
So today I'll just thank God for them, past and present, and pray that God continue to bless this greatest nation to every grace this globe. Tomorrow I'll go back to worrying about the future of the nation as we continue to elect fools on the basis of their promises of something for nothing on the backs of the producers!
God Bless America!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
What does Wired know?
This is proving harder to write than I thought. The latest issue of Wired Magazine (tree-ware version July 2010) has an article "Secret of AA: After 75 Years, We Don't Know How It Works." As much as I like Wired, the editorial tone it sometimes takes in its articles leaves me cold, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that it wasn't a hit piece on AA and I'm trying to figure out why I am having such a negative reaction to it.
There were the factual errors, the author's seemingly veiled disdain for the program's spiritual aspects, the mischaracterization of some of the steps, but those are relatively minor. So what is really bothering me? Even though the article focused on trying to explain that we don't know why AA works and that it doesn't work for everyone or even for most people the author was open with the admission that it is the best thing around for treating alcoholism.
I appreciate that it's difficult for a non-alcoholic to write about the disease or AA in a way that one of us will appreciate because we don't share a common frame of reference. That's what Bill learned early on. Only an alcoholic can talk to another and reach him.
I think what strikes me most is that the author seems to want to try to prove a negative when he writes that perhaps figuring out why AA doesn't work for everyone will help the development of a system that "improves on Wilson’s amateur scheme for living without the bottle." Well, I think it's pretty clear why the program doesn't work for everyone. Not everyone is ready to use the treatment model it presents. There was a time I certainly wasn't ready, even though I desperately needed it. And I don't know that there is anything that could have been done to hurry my readiness.
Alcoholism is a disease and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is a treatment program for that disease. The problem is that the author is confusing the effectiveness of the program with the problem of getting the alcoholic to take advantage of it. I don't know how many people cycle through AA meetings because of courts, treatment centers, halfway houses or concerned family, but my observation tells me that many of them have no intention of using AA to live soberly. Many can talk of nothing among themselves but getting out and getting it back on.
Alcoholism isn't the only disease where getting the patient to accept and follow through with the treatment is a problem. Let's take a look at some imaginary responses after a physician tells his patient, "John, I've reviewed your test results. You have diabetes and you need..."
John(1): Thanks doc, my sugar may be a little high, but I only have an occasional Big Mac and fries, and I need a couple of candy bars to pick me up in the afternoon. I'll think about it."
John(2): Gee doctor, that's scary. I guess I do need to make some changes, but that diet seems a little harsh and with work and family I don't see how I can make those counseling sessions on managing the disease.
John(3): OK, tell me what to do.
John(1) is the alcoholic who either won't admit that there's a problem, or doesn't care. I don't think that even if modern medicine came up with a one-shot solution he would take advantage of it. "Me not drink? You're crazy! I just like having a little fun with my buds."
John(2) is the alcoholic who realizes he has a problem but doesn't want to make any changes or do the work necessary to treat the problem. He wants the "alcohol fairy" to tap him with her wand and make the problems disappear. He wants the cafeteria style program where he can pick and choose; insists on doing it his own way.
John(3) is the alcoholic who's decided to stop digging his bottom deeper and is "willing to go to any length."
It's not silly to equate the alcoholic who refuses treatment with the diabetic who fails to treat his. Much like alcoholism, diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease and, interestingly enough, few patients die directly from the disease. A 2009 white paper on problems involved in the treatment of the diabetic notes:
Only the first step of the 12 directly refers to our abuse of alcohol. The remaining 11 help us learn to live! As I said, I don't know how many people cycle each year through AA meetings, but I know how many stand a chance of making it: All of the John(3)s.
Comedian Bill Engvall has a bit about getting thrown (literally) out of a bar in New York. He said a half dozen bouncers surrounded him in the parking lot and says "I didn't know how many of them it would take to kick my ass. But, I knew how many they were going to use. That's an important piece of information to have." And that's the kind of information the alcoholic needs to have to honestly begin the steps.
What do I mean? I had a terrible time admitting my powerlessness and, based on conversations with other alcoholics, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. It wasn't until I did what it tells us in Chapter 3 of the Big Book and found a way to completely smash the idea that I could drink like other men that I became able to work the program honestly. Because I know now, unlike Engvall, exactly how many drinks will be used to kick my ass.
One.
That's all it will take because as soon as I take that one drink I'll take another, and another, ad infinitum. And I might never get back...
1 ) Treating the Diabetes Infrastructure: A White Paper by Close Concerns (www.closeconcerns.com)
2 ) Ibid, Treating the Diabetes Infrastructure
There were the factual errors, the author's seemingly veiled disdain for the program's spiritual aspects, the mischaracterization of some of the steps, but those are relatively minor. So what is really bothering me? Even though the article focused on trying to explain that we don't know why AA works and that it doesn't work for everyone or even for most people the author was open with the admission that it is the best thing around for treating alcoholism.
I appreciate that it's difficult for a non-alcoholic to write about the disease or AA in a way that one of us will appreciate because we don't share a common frame of reference. That's what Bill learned early on. Only an alcoholic can talk to another and reach him.
I think what strikes me most is that the author seems to want to try to prove a negative when he writes that perhaps figuring out why AA doesn't work for everyone will help the development of a system that "improves on Wilson’s amateur scheme for living without the bottle." Well, I think it's pretty clear why the program doesn't work for everyone. Not everyone is ready to use the treatment model it presents. There was a time I certainly wasn't ready, even though I desperately needed it. And I don't know that there is anything that could have been done to hurry my readiness.
Alcoholism is a disease and the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is a treatment program for that disease. The problem is that the author is confusing the effectiveness of the program with the problem of getting the alcoholic to take advantage of it. I don't know how many people cycle through AA meetings because of courts, treatment centers, halfway houses or concerned family, but my observation tells me that many of them have no intention of using AA to live soberly. Many can talk of nothing among themselves but getting out and getting it back on.
Alcoholism isn't the only disease where getting the patient to accept and follow through with the treatment is a problem. Let's take a look at some imaginary responses after a physician tells his patient, "John, I've reviewed your test results. You have diabetes and you need..."
John(1): Thanks doc, my sugar may be a little high, but I only have an occasional Big Mac and fries, and I need a couple of candy bars to pick me up in the afternoon. I'll think about it."
John(2): Gee doctor, that's scary. I guess I do need to make some changes, but that diet seems a little harsh and with work and family I don't see how I can make those counseling sessions on managing the disease.
John(3): OK, tell me what to do.
John(1) is the alcoholic who either won't admit that there's a problem, or doesn't care. I don't think that even if modern medicine came up with a one-shot solution he would take advantage of it. "Me not drink? You're crazy! I just like having a little fun with my buds."
John(2) is the alcoholic who realizes he has a problem but doesn't want to make any changes or do the work necessary to treat the problem. He wants the "alcohol fairy" to tap him with her wand and make the problems disappear. He wants the cafeteria style program where he can pick and choose; insists on doing it his own way.
John(3) is the alcoholic who's decided to stop digging his bottom deeper and is "willing to go to any length."
It's not silly to equate the alcoholic who refuses treatment with the diabetic who fails to treat his. Much like alcoholism, diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease and, interestingly enough, few patients die directly from the disease. A 2009 white paper on problems involved in the treatment of the diabetic notes:
"Poor control of the insidious complications of diabetes is what creates its chronic morbidity, mortality and skyrocketing costs."1Now this poor control could be the result of the medical professional having difficulty in designing an appropriate treatment methodology for a particular patient. But the paper also noted:
"Patients need help in learning how to adjust their medications so they don’t join the 50 percent of those who fail to take their medicine in the first year of therapy. In addition, they need help with managing their diet, overcoming social and psychological burdens, leading healthier lifestyles, and integrating the constant demands of an unforgiving disease into their lives."2Breaking that paragraph down, it claims that 50 percent of diabetic patients fail to take their medicine in the first year of therapy and need help:
- Managing diet;
- Overcoming social/psychological burdens;
- Leading healthier lifestyles;
- Integrating the constant demands of an unforgiving disease into their lives.
Only the first step of the 12 directly refers to our abuse of alcohol. The remaining 11 help us learn to live! As I said, I don't know how many people cycle each year through AA meetings, but I know how many stand a chance of making it: All of the John(3)s.
Comedian Bill Engvall has a bit about getting thrown (literally) out of a bar in New York. He said a half dozen bouncers surrounded him in the parking lot and says "I didn't know how many of them it would take to kick my ass. But, I knew how many they were going to use. That's an important piece of information to have." And that's the kind of information the alcoholic needs to have to honestly begin the steps.
What do I mean? I had a terrible time admitting my powerlessness and, based on conversations with other alcoholics, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. It wasn't until I did what it tells us in Chapter 3 of the Big Book and found a way to completely smash the idea that I could drink like other men that I became able to work the program honestly. Because I know now, unlike Engvall, exactly how many drinks will be used to kick my ass.
One.
That's all it will take because as soon as I take that one drink I'll take another, and another, ad infinitum. And I might never get back...
1 ) Treating the Diabetes Infrastructure: A White Paper by Close Concerns (www.closeconcerns.com)
2 ) Ibid, Treating the Diabetes Infrastructure
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