i9 agree w/ mommy bout the 2 minutes- Obviously lots of addicts have strong opinions on lots of outside issues: politics, sports, religion etc. the early founders realized that those issues could overwhelm any group , let alone drunks n junkies. that why they stressed the purity of message. keeps us INCLUSIVE not exclusiv e.
as far as your 2nd meeting. Again this hearkens back to the traditions. If i pin my recovery on any other person, i am pinning my recovery on another addict who is just as liable to melt down as i am. Hence: "principles before personalities"
i ran into this in my rehab- was a valuable lesson in how easy it is to attach to powerful/ego folk and then have them prove themselves all to human. Saw a lot of people go back out over that one.....