This is a great attempt to appeal to feel goodery gibberish. Feel goodery that I understand. Of course we want people who have addictions to overcome them, and we certainly don't want to put them down for doing so. But the truth is, people who have harmful addictions, have them for a reason. That is because they have an inability to deal with reality. Whatever their situation may be, they find that their addiction gives them respite from dealing with it.
That's a very simplistic and ignorant view of addiction to alcohol. People generally drink to get high, but the difference between Joe who drinks regularly and Sue who drinks regularly, and Joe who becomes alcoholic simply isn't simply that Joe has less ability to deal with alcohol. Every study I've seen indicates genes have a big role in determining who does and doesn't become addicted. If you want to cite studies that show otherwise, please do so.
This is nothing to be necessarily ashamed of, but what AA tries to do is replace alcohol with a religious, cultish doma. Just look at the 12 steps and tell me that they are not religious in nature. The 2nd step alone tells you all you need to know. "Come to believe that a power greater then ourselves could restore us to sanity".
Alcoholics Anonymous : Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
I doubt if you've spent any time actually in AA meetings. There is for some people a religious element to AA. But it's not (in my experience) a religious atmosphere, and it's certainly not cultish. At its core, AA is a support group. And as I've mentioned, there are perhaps 30 different AA groups in my area, and they all have different personalities and focuses. If you want to generalize and stereotype the groups, it's just evidence you don't have any idea how AA actually works in real life.
Trying to insert religious dogma into a program that is suppose to be helping these people is simply disgusting in my view. It is kind of the same tactic many Christian organizations use when they are handing out rice to starving kids in Africa and include a bible along with the aid.
Comparing starving people's receipt of food, to what is voluntary participation in a support group, is ridiculous. And what religious dogma is being forced on others in AA? A non-binding
suggestion to rely on a higher power of your choice?
That is why I look at AA as help for the weak minded.
That's a non sequitur.
Instead of dealing with the reality of their situations, and speaking frankly about it, they are taught to relinquish themsleves to a higher power in order to become "saved" from the evils of alcohol.
Speaking frankly about addiction IS what AA is all about. More than anything, being brutally honest about yourself, your role in creating your own problems, and how you can address your problems, without regard to what else is going on in your life, is the AA program. You clearly don't have the faintest idea about how it's supposed to work.
When in reality, its not the alcohol that is the problem.
There is no "THE" problem. But for an addicted person, no other problem can be solved until the person gets off the addicting substance and can successfully stay off it. So if any problem is primary, it's obviously the addicting substance.
The steps are in fact ONE way to address all the other problems that contribute to alcohol use. Look at steps 5-10. Alcohol isn't mentioned. So you say 'it's not the alcohol that is the problem' but are apparently clueless that AA recognizes that rather explicitly by focusing most of the steps on problems other than...alcohol!
I think AA programs should be completely dismantled on the grounds that they are religious organizations which are completely illegally funded by the government.
Another non sequitur.
Groups are locally organized by small groups of individuals, and funded entirely by the voluntary and optional donations of those attending. Government literally has NO role in them.