My Home group

[mike w]

I am hoping that somebody can share their ES+H,,A few years ago the clarity statement was put into our format.
It was voted on and passed at a buis. meeting.I get a bad feeling every time the CS is read.It just dos not
sit well with me,i am not sure why,any one have any thoughts on the subject pro and or con?

[lucy]

hello mike, i've heard several clairty statements at meetings and conventions... i've heard one that also rubs me the wrong way...
if it is a statement just giving clarity or an explanation of NA's belief that it's a disease of addiction... explaining why in na we normally hear the terms clean, addiction, recovery, recovering rather than sober, alcoholic, alcoholism... then i'm ok with the clarity statement.
there's one that is asking folks NOT to say sober or alcoholic because of the traditions. its my understanding that individuals sitting in the meeting can say they're an alcoholic or sober if they want, its not compromising the traditions at all. now for a chairperson or speaker to use those terms, to me it just blurs the idea that "it doesn't matter what or how much you used" and that we deal with 1 disease, (not 2)
anyway, i'm not sure i explained myself well (thats why i like most clarity statements cause they explain so much better than me!)

[mike w]

Does the clarity statement request that na members not use their own words,alcoholic addict clean and sober??
Thanks

[lucy]

this is the one my homegroup used to use...

This is our clarity statement: We are presented with a dilemma when NA members identify themselves as addicts and alcoholics or talk about "living clean and sober". The clarity of the NA message is blurred. To speak in this manner suggests that there are two diseases and that one drug is somehow separate from the rest, requiring special recognition. Narcotics Anonymous makes no distinction between drugs. To us, an alcoholic is simply an addict whose drug of choice happened to be alcohol. Our identification as addicts is all-inclusive and allows us to concentrate on our similarities, not our differences.

so its not asking folks NOT to those terms, its just saying that when people do, it sends a blurred message.... suggesting there are 2 diseases, etc etc.