[Magdalen] More Clergy DWI

[Jim Guthrie]

Allan,

What a great testimony!  As one who drank to excess in my younger days, I can
relate. And I can relate cutting down to a glass or two of wine with dinner. And
when the doctor said "No alcohol" because my blood sugar was high,  I stopped
even the glass of wine with dinner (not to mention ice cream <g>.. The
prohibition was reiterated with the chemo, although my oncologist said I shouldn’t
deny myself on a social occasion. And I haven't.

That's having gone cold turkey with smoking (a pipe) after acquiring a worrisome
bad cough, it seemed easy in both instances. But I think that takes a degree of
self and self worth, not to mention basic self-control to succeed.

I realize there are some who find that self-control with a group and with a
sponsor, and for them AA works. And I'll stipulate that this has been the case
for tens of thousands of people.

But the problem, at least in the U.S. is that too many law enforcement and
judges seem to think AA is a cure-all. Even people guilty of causing a fatality
while DWI sometimes get sentenced to probation and AA and even get their
driver's license back in 30 days. And some plead that's too harsh "because I
need to get to work."  And someone who has been "sentenced" to AA multiple times
and goes out and gets drunk and kills someone while DWI, it's not enough to say,
"well, that person didn’t WANT to change." That's far too glib an answer for
bereaved families..

If someone has a disease, they are not encouraged to join a group of people with
the same disease to overcome it.

They get professional treated.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie