A.A./NA resignation

Dear A.A./NA World Services, Inc.:

I regret to inform you that I am resigning from my memberships in the Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs. Although I have enjoyed those memberships, science and technology advancements are quickly causing A.A./NA to become obsolete. I hereby relinquish all rights, responsibilities and privileges as an A.A./NA member, effective immediately. I appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

I recently came to believe that your foundational anonymity requirement actually harms recovering addicts. When a recovering addict remains closeted (i.e., anonymous), he is actually exacerbating the stigma that drug and alcohol addicts are bad people who need to hide their true selves by lying about who they really are. It’s 2022 and addicts no longer need to hide the truth about who they really are, particularly if they are recovering addicts. I am proud to be a gay recovering addict; hence, my resignation. Besides, if everyone can see my face and which car I drove up in, it’s really not anonymous at all, is it?

After much meditation, I have also come to believe that your Tradition 8 which prohibits sponsors from charging even a nominal fee for their time actually harms addicts who have hit bottom and decided that it’s time to recover. One of my fundamental principles is that no one values anything that they get for free. Too many drug and alcohol addicts end up not getting sponsors because they don’t value A.A./NA sponsorship–because A.A./NA sponsors must do their work for free in order to comply with your Tradition 8.

Finally, I can no longer tolerate your Tradition 10 policy of complete silence on outside issues. Your silence sometimes creates a conflict of interest that contradicts my moral values. According to the A.A. 2019 tax return that’s posted on IRS.gov, A.A. collected $11,331,523 that year as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in the business of selling “literature and related items [such as the Alcoholics Anonymous ‘Big Book’–the world’s 30th most popular book] directed towards alcoholics following the A.A. recovery program”. That means A.A./NA are in the publishing business. That also means that the more relapsers there are the more books A.A./NA sells. The A.A./NA business model is based on increasing the rate of relapse. Furthermore, bulk-selling your “Alcoholics Anonymous” and “Narcotics Anonymous” books to the Old Rehabs is an immoral conflict of interest because you know full well that, like you, the Old Rehabs (an outside issue) also increase their profitability when the rate of relapse increases.

I hope to create an honest addiction recovery program that focuses more on saving addicts’ lives and less on selling books and literature, espouses a wee bit less God and god and Christianity, and aligns better with my moral values.

I hope that my resignation does not in any way cause inconvenience and would like to apologize in advance if that is the case. If you have any questions or comments regarding my resignation, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

I have enjoyed performing my A.A./NA duties and attending its functions throughout the duration of my membership and will miss doing so. I wish A.A./NA continued success and hope that your members and I may enjoy keeping in touch in the future.

The only requirement for A.A./NA membership is a desire to stop drinking/using. Although I am now nearly 7 years clean and sober, I never had a desire to stop drinking alcohol or using drugs. My desire is to recover from addiction. Your 12 Steps will always be an integral part of my life-long recovery from addiction, most particularly Steps 1 and 12.

Thank you for your patience and understanding at this time.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Hayward

JUST BECAUSE
YOU ARE OFFENDED
DOES NOT MEAN
YOU ARE RIGHT

AND THAT’S THE TRUTH


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