Thank you for your insights (and for your work in this field). I'm grateful that alcoholism (and addiction in general) is recognized as a disease condition by the AMA/World Health Organization because it allows insurance coverage and allows doctors and professionals to develop clinical models and treatment plans as well as research. Otherwise, we are left with the thinking of the past: that we are lazy, weak and morally inferior.
Most of us are baffled by our condition, having shown discipline and intelligence in the other areas of our lives. Without the disease model, we (along with those who love us) think everything would be solved if we could "just cut down," - just be normal. It's like telling someone with depression or bipolar to "snap out of it."
In order to treat alcoholism, we have to have something to treat. If it's not recognized as a disease state, we're left without the resources to save lives, the education of professionals, and the opportunity to further understand the complexities of humanity.
Thanks again for a great post!