Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Antidote for America's 'Victims-R-Us' Mentality., June 12, 1998
By A Customer
Ken Ragge's done a good job of tackling one of the 20th century's sacred cows- AA. Maybe, he says, AA isn't efficient, benign, saintly and all the Good Things we've been supposing it is for the last 60 years. Like Ragge, I was a member of AA for many years and it helped me get off the booze. However, AA's not-so-subtle insistence that you 'keep coming back or you'll die, go mad or go to jail', its elevation of Older Sober Members to secular sainthood and many other seemingly innocuous traditions are culty if not exactly cult-like. I part company with Ragge on the extent to which AA is a Really Really Bad Thing, but there's no doubt he makes a convincing case for a re-examination of AA and the part it's played in the Victims-R-Us-isation of America. A very very interesting read.
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45 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is AA really a cult?, November 26, 2002
By A Customer
I am 25 years old and have already belonged to 2 cults(No, I'm not bragging). The first was the Unification Church aka the Moonies, the second was Alcoholics Anonymous. I'll try to explain briefly some of the similarities.Before I get started, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm a lonely guy. I have always been an outcast, always felt unloved. There's nothing I wanted more than a family and a secure home where I would feel special and appreciated. When I joined the Moonies, I was told that all my problems were the result of not having the messiah(moon) in my life, and that once I joined and started serving Moon, I would be happy. This worked for a little while, until some point I realized that they answered every question with the same answer "just believe in true parents(moon & his wife)" or something to that effect. I also noticed that some members were in pain emotionally, but they believed this pain was part of their "fallen nature" and that they probably weren't doing enough for Moon. They managed to keep smiling, but if you watched them long enough you would find frequent sighs and looks of despair. I was told that if I left the Moonies that I would be rejecting the Messiah, and that I would be miserable. The sad thing is I believed them. I did leave, but it took a long time for me to understand exactly what had happened. I thought I was through with cults, until... A few years ago I was going through a lot of pain over the breakup of a relationship. I chose to ignore it and drink. I drank pretty heavily for a while, almost every night and almost always till I passed out. I knew that I needed help and was told about AA. I started going to meetings and was immediately told to get a sponsor, make 90 meetings in 90 days, and to start reading the big book. And once again, just like the Moonie experience, it did work for a while. Until one day I realized that they labeled everything they had ever done wrong as being the result of their diseased alcoholic thinking, even the things they did before they ever picked up a drink! I started to realize what a B.S. concept it was, to oversimply every little thing down to this one tiny "fact": that we're alcoholics. OK, so the resentment I was feeling toward my parents wasn't the result of abuse, but rather an alcoholic character defect, and that as long as I worked the steps, it would go away. I was also told that if I ever left the program, that I will most likely drink again, and even if I don't I'll just be a miserable dry drunk. I realized at that moment that this was the exact same thing the Moonies had told me ("if you leave the church you are rejecting the Messiah and will be miserable.") I began seeing the connections. The Moonies assigned me a "spiritual father" to guide me on the path to serving Moon, AA gave me a "sponsor" to show me how to work the steps. The Moonies had 1000s of members who always had these phony smiles on their faces and believed that what they were doing was the right thing in Gods eyes and that other religions were wrong, AA had the same thing. The similarities don't stop there, but I think I've said enough. In both instances when I joined these groups I was experiencing personal lows and very vulnerable. In both cases I was very lonely and needed someone to be with. I've come to the conclusion that there are a lot of lonely people in this world, and thats why these groups will probably keep going. We all want to feel loved and accepted, and we all want to do the "right thing." Thats what these groups provide for their followers. I'm not saying that the people in these groups are bad, even the best of us can fall prey to these things. The next time you watch a news program, I want you to consider the possibility that everything you're watching is false. That whats really happening in the world, and whats in front of you are 2 very different things. It may seem like I'm going off on some crazy tangent, but I'm just trying to prove how easy it can be to manipulate people. I have compassion. I like so many have used alcohol as an escape. I don't know if I'm an alcoholic, I'm not even sure what the word means anymore. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a lot happier and healthier staying sober. Today I practice Buddhism ALONE. I love everything about it and wish I could share my enthusiasm with others, but at this point I'm through with organized religion. Remember, you CAN stop drinking AND be happy AND be spiritual without AA. ~Willie J
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31 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps well meaning, but terribly misinformed., July 11, 2001
By A Customer
I agree with Mr. Ragge's basic premise, that there are many ways to recover from alcoholism and that our current drug policy lacks a reflection of those alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous. However, his underlying premise that AA does more harm than good is absurd. Unfortunately, Ken Ragge's book suffers from the same problem that he is arguing against - being right at the expense of other points of view. Mr. Ragge's underlying premise, that AA does more harm than good, is often supported by vague arguments that are based on what can only be described as a severe misunderstanding of the basic principles of AA's twelve steps. Unfortunately these faulty and dogmatic arguments undermine what seems to be a sincere desire on Mr. Ragge's part to bring a better understanding of the many options in the field of alcoholic treatment to help alcoholics who still suffer. In a previous review of this book, an Amazon reviewer says that he is particularly troubled by ". . . the tendency of AA doctrine to promote abdication of personal responsibility." This is based on the following statement he takes from Ragge's book, "One very attractive concept for the newcomer is that, unlike in the past where he could blame alcohol for his behavior only when actually drinking, under AA's disease concept of alcoholism he can attribute everything troubling within himself to alcohol." This in and of itself sounds morally reprehensible. However, this notion is counter to AA dogma and based on what newcomers want to believe rather than actual AA doctrine or practice. A quick read of the 12 steps and a conversation with anyone who is actually working them would likely dispel this notion immediately. And yet, to my genuine astonishment, Ragge, in his 'research,' has somehow missed this obvious point entirely. If the doctrine of AA is about anything, it is about taking personal responsibility for ones actions and behaviors. In AA the fundamental doctrine is expressed in the 12 Steps. These steps are entirely about seeing where one has been, and continues to be, avoiding responsibility in ones life. Being an active member of AA for over 15 years, I can tell you that many people in AA, including myself, have used the disease concept (and anything else for that matter) to abdicate personal responsibility. AA's 'disease' concept is just that, a concept. It is provided to help the alcoholic understand that they are under a severe mental obsession and physical craving. However, it is only a tool, like a hammer or a nail. And if one uses a hammer to do the job of a paintbrush, perhaps it is time to examine the misuse of the tool, not the tool itself. This is an easy misunderstanding to make if you are new to AA. However, it is irresponsible for one writing a book that claims to tell the 'truth' about AA. Going to this book for the 'truth' about Alcoholics Anonymous is like asking someone who is just learning how to add or subtract to explain algebra to you. It is this kind of irresponsible journalism that corrupts Ragge's attempt to show 'truth.' It destroys what otherwise would be a worthwhile crusade to change the alcoholic policy in this country so that it reflects the broad choices that now exist.
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