Interesting Concept – What Does It Mean?

Okay… we’ve had two consecutive meetings where we’ve discussed choice and defense against the first drink.

To begin the first meeting, we quoted from page 24 in the Big Book;

“The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.”

To begin the next meeting we quoted from page 43;

“The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power.”

The first meeting brought a number of exclamations of having a choice when it came to drinking – from folks with double digit “sobriety” – which was the motivation for bringing up the topic at the following meeting.

It was obvious, to me, at the second meeting, that a number of people took offense to the suggestion that the Big Book offered the truth and it was contrary to their beliefs, as they drifted more and more toward an argument as the discussion wore on. That is to say, they became defensive of their stand and began to twist the discussion to discredit the opposite viewpoint as the argumentative viewpoint.

I believe that this is one example of the lack of effort to learn our Traditions. Why do I believe that? Now, this is only my perception of it please, but the First Tradition says;

“The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay whole, or A.A. dies. Without unity, the heart of A.A. would cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving grace of God; His gift to us would be spent aimlessly.”

It is still life or death and that is damn well serious! I have been given no reason to deny the experience of those who went before us so I won’t. At the same time I want to remember what I was taught – the absolute best place on the planet earth to “hear” the disease in action is in Alcoholics Anonymous! The audience is huge there! And this disease still wants us all dead…

I’d like to offer a prayer that we all pay very strict attention, for constant vigilance is the watchword, to those who would offer a “different” program of recovery to us and the newcomers than the one that is offered to us by the grace of a loving God in the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous. The words of those that offer us a man-made, will-power based, free-will based, defense against the first drink ought to be re-considered, as well as the example they are setting.