SHOUT Sobriety: As American as Blueberry Pie

I am a Christian who celebrates the faith diversity offered by Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and others. I am a heterosexual white male who supports equality for the LGBTQ community, women and people of all races and ethnicities. I am a fiscal conservative and social moderate who believes in listening and compromise on almost every issue (I’m done listening when it comes to assault rifles and background checks — I live in Colorado, and we have lived through too much).

I stand and salute the flag, but understand that it represents liberty and the freedom for my fellow Americans to kneel, or even burn it in protest. Freedom is in part defined by disagreement and dissent. God has blessed Americans with the right to agree to disagree.

I am a sober alcoholic. I write and speak about alcoholism and recovery. That might seem a pretty depressing topic to which to dedicate my life, but it is a very uplifting time to be an active part of the recovery community. There are lots of energetic people doing innovative things in the recovery world. I like to think of myself as one of them. I believe recovering out loud, if enough of us do it, can end the epidemic of alcoholism.

I question many of the philosophies of Alcoholics Anonymous. I challenge the principle of anonymity and the amends process on merit and logic, making my…