" The more we live the Program, the more God seems to put us in positions where issues surface. When issues surface, we write about them. We begin enjoying recovery because we have a way to resolve shame, guilt or resentment" ". (Basic Text, 5ed. pg.30).
Id now like to quote a bit from my own writings in a research-dissertation; it is related to two seperate stands and viewpoints. It reads like this;
Objectivism:
This is an ontological position that implies that social phenomena confront us as external facts that are beyond our reach or influence. Organizations can be discussed as a tangible object; with rules and regulations; with standardized procedures for getting things done. People are employed in different jobs within a division of labour. (in NA terms, we take up service in different positions and capacities). Organizations have a heirarchy, a mission statement, a general policy and objectives and strategies to achieve them. The degree to which these features exist will differ from organization to organization, but thinking of these terms fosters the ontological perspective that organizations have a reality that is external to the individuals that inhabit them. The organization represents a social order that puts pressure on its individual members to confirm to the requirements of the organization. People learn and apply rules and regulations, do the jobs to which they are appointed, follow standardised procedures and tell each other what to do and what not to do. The values in the mission statement are learnt and applied while in the background is the implicit understanding that good work is rewarded whereas bad work will invite punishment. Organization therefore exerts a constraining and inhibiting force on its members.
The same can be said of cultures; cultures and sub-cultures are viewed in objectivism as widely shared repositories of shared values and customs in which people are socialized so that good citizenship and full participation is effected. Internalization of these values and customs constrain and inhibit the individual because of operant conditioning; that of hope of gain or reward for doing the right thing and fear of loss or punishment for doing wrong. This conditioning results in the formation of subconscious behavioural patterns in the individual, associated with the security of social acceptability and social inclusion and the fear of social exclusion and ex-communication. This sort of conditioning either produces a voluntary obedience to the prescribed norms or an obedience camouflaging an unexpressed resistance that brought upon the individual a pathological condition called neurosis. In the case of both culture and organization, the social entity in question comes across as something external to the actor and as having an almost tangible reality of its own. This entity has characteristics of an object and hence an objective reality of its own. To a very large extent, these are classic ways of conceptualizing organization and culture.
Constructionism
The other ontological orientation is called Constructionism. Also known as social constructivism, it is an alternative ontological position to objectivism. The constructionist approach acknowledges that there are multiple realities embedded in data; in other words there are multiple ways of interpreting a specific set of data. When it is accepted that theory is constructed or even co-constructed out of data, there is no reason why an analyst cannot use a variety of analytic tools such as asking questions and using diagrams to facilitate that construction. This position basically challenges the suggestion that categories such as organization and culture are pre-given and therefore confront social actors as external realities that cannot be influenced. Social phenomena and meanings are being continually accomplished by social actors and because of interaction is constantly being revised. The notion is that researchers own accounts of the social world are constructions made from their own ontological viewpoints; therefore what is being presented is only specific and is by no means definitive (Miller, 1999).
In examining organizations, insights emerge from symbolic interactions in a social setting. The situation could best be conceptualized as a social order that was constructed via an emergent process of repeated negotiations between the social actors on one hand and between the organizational entity and the actors on the other. By the same token, culture can be seen as an emergent reality in a continuous state of construction and reconstruction, and not as an external reality that acts on and constrains people.
That said, people seem to be driven by their own orientations. The ones that are called moral police say this is that way it should be done, while the tradition-talkers insist that theirs is the way thing should be run.
My own perspective is that both are acting objectivist roles; forcing theory and not allowing for personal freedom.......
Basically I am of constructionist leanings and as I see it, there is no issue here at MIP because neither has the Clarity Statement ever been read here nor is it a habit to impose on others...
Id love it for us to just let it be this way,, a safe place to share and not be attacked for our convictions.....or be drilled into any way of thinking.
Recovery to me is recovery, nothing else works.... so if my life is getting unmanageable, then the dis-ease is at work again and when Im serene, Im recovering,, a clean and serene addict !!!! Verily, I choose the latter.
__________________
Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
Wow... you said a mouthful there partner. But I like the conclusion. Yes, MIP is a wonderful place. We do share freely and amongst the regular posters at least there is little hostility for expressed opinions. I too like it that way.
I'll weigh in on this one I suppose. My group is open 24 hours a day. We don't have a fulltime special worker, and often don't even have a part time special worker. We have 4 Highly attended meetings a day and 1 that is hit or miss. Soemtimes just 2 or 3 doing the readers and waiting 1/2 hour for someone to show. And they usually do. That said we leave the building un attended.
We drop 7th tradition in a safe and have done everything we can do to protect it. It's been completely ripped out of the floor and stolen 5 or 6 times in 20 years. The soda machines have been broken into at least that many times. We have people who don't have a place to go often there whether they are addicts or not.
Sometimes during a meeting there will be 20 to 50 people and only 4 or 5 people share. Sometimes in a 5 or 6 person meeting everyone doesn't get to share. We have a meeting or 2 a week where the chairperson controls the meeting and calls on who gets to share. Those meetings are usually packed, standing room only.
I haven't been heavily involved (there every night for at least 1 meeting) in over 10 years but in that time I had to call 911 because I or someone else was being assaulted, I had a knife pulled on me twice and someone followed me home once and tried to assault me. We have CWP law here so I held him at gunpoint in my front yard till the police arrested him.
In none of these situations was I ever trying to enforce a tradition. I stepped between a guy beating his wife once and a guy throwing coffee cups from the hangers in the coffee bar at a speaker.
My group in the last 6 months has voted at group conscience to barr 5 people to 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after a meeting. So far 2 of them have been ticketed for no trespassing. A second ticket sends them to jail from our adress. Any member could call the police and have this done.
Our autonomy allows us to operate using our specific situation. NA is reaching the community and dealing with it the best it can.
Group Conscience is a fun place to be usually. Don't get this post wrong, I'm not asking for forgiveness or permission. I stopped that years ago. I'm simply stating that this is how it is.
You know what; I'll take some pics of the group building when it's pretty empty sometime this weekend so you can get a feel of it. We are located near several treatment facilities and are walking distance from 2 Salvation Army centers, and several night shelters.
We always have a big anniversary and birthday night but realize also there are people here who wouldn't attend a meeting at our group if we were passing out $5 bills at the door. Most newcomers get a little clean time and get as far as they can away from the area because of the playground issue. Those that stay are usually some real caring and loving, passionate and compassionate people.
Some of us have the area reputation for being assholes. Pretty much all of us love NA.
