You know, I have always been very careful to be respectful of the choices that others make. But I left this forum for a while, and one of the reasons that I did so was that I felt that the slightest criticism that I made of the AA program was jumped on and blown to proportions that I didn't intend. In fact, it was this defensiveness that made me particularly uncomfortable. If the program was such a fine thing, I reasoned, surely it shouldn't require such a constant and vigilant defense?
Anyway, though I don't think anyone can accuse me of being intemperate or bashing - still I've learned to guard my words. It makes a free sharing of my feelings a bit limited. It seems ironic that in my absence the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction. Perhaps now it will settle in the middle.