Has AA morphed?

Finding open criticism of this magnitude of AA is unusual for me. A number of things don't add up for me, and my heavy experience with AA and Al-Anon (over 2000 meetings in ca. 5 years) point to something totally different than described here.

That said, there is a real danger in AA, as in any other system of 'belief' or philosophy, that it can be(come) contaminated. And AA is not the answer for some. And some groups/meetings are not good AA or Al-anon, that is certain fact. Perhaps I was fortunate, but I found good groups and meetings, and yes, I did come across a few groups/meetings that were not for me.

What was of great value for me was the total open-ness and honesty of the people there, and the sharing of life experiences. I found that I was not alone, nor a black sheep; many others had the same questions, problems and perspectives. It was nothing like a religion, quite the contrary. It was a freedom from fundy type religion.

For me, AA/Al Anon was a turning point, and I found that my thoughts were legitimate. From there on, I dared to look at things with more perspective and more openly, including myself. I depended far less on the religious background and community, and began thinking for myself. And that has made all the difference. Today, I consider myself an agnostic of sorts; I simply don't have enough valid evidence to hold to some dogmatic beliefs, political nor religious.

Once in Europe, I attended a number of Al-Anon meetings, and also some AA. But I stopped; it is not popular here, likely because of a very different social atmosphere; more social sobriety and more social support. And my need for this support and understanding was provided by the whole atmosphere here, whereas I could find that only in AA/Al-Anon in the U.S.. AA/Al-Anon and its subdivisions, is primarily an American phenomenon, taylored to American society. And perhaps it has morphed too much in the last years to be an honest program, including freedom from religion.

I don't know, since my experiences are not recent ones any more.

But this article is not written for nothing, so perhaps there is more going on than my experiences would indicate. After reading this, I really wonder if, just as with American society, that AA/Al Anon has morphed, influenced by fundamentalistic religion and politics.

I don't know. I moved to Europe 17 years ago, and found an atmosphere much more suitable for myself. Matter-of-factness, the atmosphere that allows me to be me with no pressure from others (within logical boundaries), that almost anything could be talked about normally, allowing me to be able to do that with others as well.

But I see that changing here as well, and the neocon influence gaining ground here, led from higher up. And, with that, increasing social and personal problems.

Here is the article to which I am referring.