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12-Step Activities
Dr. Tiebout (thank
you, Texas Terri for this one!)
Atheist Events
Center For Inquiry West
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What Is SOS?
SOS is an
alternative recovery method for those alcoholics or drug addicts who are
uncomfortable with the spiritual content of widely available 12-Step
programs. SOS takes a reasonable, secular approach to recovery and
maintains that sobriety is a separate issue from religion or spirituality.
SOS credits the individual for achieving and maintaining his or her own
sobriety, without reliance on any "Higher Power." SOS respects
recovery in any form regardless of the path by which it is achieved. It is
not opposed to or in competition with any other recovery programs.
SOS supports healthy skepticism and encourages the use of the
scientific method to understand alcoholism.
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Why am I an
Atheist?
Why not?
Had I not heard the
word "God" from other people, I would have never known the idea
existed. Simply put, just because I do not understand a
particular phenomeona and am in awe of many of nature's splendors, does not
mean I think that a "power" or "intelligence" created
it. I saw a lot of things as a child that as an adult I would have
considered
"botched jobs" if a supreme being had anything to do with it-
take the Holocaust, for example...or biologically, the appendix. I don't
think there's any great meaning to our existence, nor do we have any
purpose on earth. We create meaning where there is none...because
our narcissism does not allow for us to think that we are insignificant.
Some of my more
pious friends who care for me worry I will rot in Hell. I calm them by
asking "Well, you say God made everything, right? Well, then he made
atheists too. Leave us alone and leave us to God as you understand
Him/It/Her." This usually works for a few days.
I have to give
Jehovah's Witnesses credit for risking their lives putting their circulars
in the gateway where I used to live. I have a German Shepherd that is an
atheist also, and far more militant about it than I am.
Going to AA and not
having a Higher Power sometimes poses a few problems. But generally I am
well-accepted as the one "that's in every crowd"...I point out
that most people I know that have relapsed had a Higher Power, including
the priests that come through the doors of AA. The logic of needing a
Higher Power to stay sober escapes me.
I am told by my
friends to be more "open-minded". I tell them to be more
open-minded. I respond that I have truly thought through the possibility of
there being a God, and suggest that they think through the possibility of
there NOT being one.
Ciao~cranky the
infidel
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AA/ATHEISM/ARTISTS
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alcoholism
anonymous
one
Secular Sobriety
atheist alliance
Musician's Assistance Program
Road Recovery
Musicares
Problems a Musician or
Artist Faces
Addictions of
all kinds are equal-opportunity
employers...doesn't matter what the job is. I
do believe, however, that certain professions
have been notorious for promoting mood-
altering behavior. Peer pressure operates at
all age levels and there is a lot of peer pressure
in the art and music world to get high. Misery
loves company, and an addict often invites others
into this hell. If that addict is also a rock 'n roll icon, for someone
easily star-struck, it is almost a flattering feeling of having
"arrived" when "bonding" with a bottle, needle, or
pipe. Getting blasted is glorified and exalted as the "Life".
Many become convinced that it is impossible to be truly creative without
the aid of pharmaceuticals.
When the addicted
creature finally has enough and comes to the point of quitting, new
problems begin. New friends have to be made and the ratio of those that use
and those that don't is ridiculously in favor of those that do. Managers
and promoters do as much to promote the using lifestyle as the music/art
culture itself. It is easy to feel alienated, different and alone when
trying to operate as a sober and responsible person. It is often sneered
at, joked about, and even there are some that try their best to get
"dry joe" off the wagon to see him "let loose" for a
change.
Fortunately, there
are organizations like MusiCares and the Musician's Assistance Program that
offer support and a network of sober musicians to lean on, as well as help
during financial and physical crisis. There is not too much specific help
for other types of artists yet. If you have any other links you'd like to
see posted on this subject, click on "feedback" below to send me
a note.
-cranky
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