Recovery, the 12-Step Movement, and Politics

In her article "Radicalizing Recovery: Addiction, Spirituality, and Politics" (May 1996, pp. 306-312), Carolyn Morrell addresses the concerns of feminists and other progressive political groups over people who flock to recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that advocate spiritual growth but not political change. She, along with other social activists, believes that recovering people should be involved in political change as well as spiritual recovery: "Spiritual and political worldviews offer two vast and profound modes of understanding experience . . . [that should be blended]" (p. 307). She suggests how social workers can do this in treatment centers for people recovering from addiction. Morrell points out that spiritual traditions recognize humankind's fundamental relatedness and that this relatedness motivates progressive political activity, but she finds that recovery programs such as AA "do not struggle to end exploitation and the social realities that relate to addiction" (p. 307). "Thus, thorough recovery is derailed because attention is narrowly focused on personal solutions" (p. 308). Although it is true that political education is not a focus in either AA or addiction treatment programs, it is misleading to imply that 12-step fellowships steer members away from political activity. For example, Morrell remarks that some interpret the Serenity Prayer recited at meetings "as an injunction against social action" (p. 308). She quotes only the first line of the prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change," but does not mention the next two lines, "the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." It is clear to those familiar with AA and other 12-step programs that they are a means of personal empowerment. Yet most people think of AA as nonpolitical because of the 10th of AA's Twelve Traditions, which states, "[AA] has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy" (AA, 1953, p. 12). What is more controversial than politics? Thus, it is useful to ponder how 12-step recovery can be empowering without being political. I have concluded that 12-step recovery is political in two ways. 12-Step Communities and Politics One way that AA and other programs are political is by simply being a community for members. The word "politics" comes from the Greek word "polis," or city (Shipley, 1984). In ancient Greece the city was not the large urban area of today, but rather the community of which each individual was an integral part. No person possessed an identity apart from the community. Conceived in this broader sense, the relationship of the recovering individual with a 12-step community is by its nature a political relationship. A recent multinational study of AA reported, "In Mexico, AA can be seen as one among the many recent grassroots organizations that provide new channels of influence for underprivileged groups" (Makela, 1996, p. 111). In AA (or Narcotics Anonymous), one develops awareness of the oppression of drugs and addiction. Consciousness is raised about the lack of treatment services, the difficulty of finding acceptance outside the AA community, and other aspects of social injustice. Consciousness-raising among members has not led AA itself to become a forum for political activity, because this would risk internal disagreements, dissension, and possible destruction of the fellowship. However, the proscription against controversy and "outside issues" does not extend to members' personal activity outside the meeting room and does not prevent mild forms of political action before and after meetings around the coffee pot and outside the meeting room door. This type of activity illustrates how 12-step empowerment becomes political through the individual activities and linkages among members. For example, it would be hard to find an AA member anywhere in the United States who has not heard of Ann Richards, the former governor of Texas and a recovering person, and undoubtedly many Texas AA members voted and campaigned for her. …