Recovery Principles Could Help Congress

Excerpts from a remarkable article from Hazelden: Alive and Free:

"The humility that addiction brings is sadly missing in American politics today," said Jim Ramstad, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota and a recovering alcoholic. "Unfortunately, the unity that all Americans felt following 9/11 has been replaced by the politics of division. There's too much rancor and bitterness. People aren't listening to what's being said by the other side or searching for some common ground. Total honesty on both sides of the aisle would be a great substitute for political spin."

"'In 20 years of AA, I've never once experienced antagonism because of personal differences,' said Rick R. 'The only arguments I've witnessed aren't because someone is rich or poor or black or white; they're because someone isn't being truthful to themselves or to the group about their addiction. You don't come to a mutual-help meeting as a Republican or Democrat or a millionaire or a bum; you come as someone who is trying to stay clean and sober. You're no better and you're no worse than the person sitting next to you, but you're all better for being there and for trying.'"

"Addiction and recovery are the great levelers," he continued. "They remind us that we are imperfect beings. We all have deficiencies and character flaws. It would be a lot easier to gain mutual support and establish a common ground if everyone practiced the principles of recovery. Could you imagine the good we could do if we could transform Congress into one big meeting of recovering people where people say what they mean and mean what they say?"

--Published October 4, 2004
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Alive & Free is a health column that provides information to help prevent substance abuse problems and address such problems. It is created by Hazelden, a nonprofit agency based in Center City, Minn., that offers a wide range of information and services on addiction.

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