It isn't semantics because there IS a difference between saying "I drank because this happened, I used it as an excuse, I need to admit that I drink because I drink" and saying "My recovery stopped because I allowed my thinking become rigid and that caused me to become depressed and that caused me to stop caring and that meant that when things got hard I didn't mind drinking".
I stopped drinking, but it wasn't enough. I also had to figure out why I drank, and what needed fixed in my life. So in making a renewed effort to start over in recovery, I need to be able to identify what mistakes I made before, and it is more in depth than "I drank". I understand that it is that simple for some, but it isn't for me.
I didn't go to meetings, I didn't go to therapy, I didn't do a lot of things. I don't get to say those things aren't related to my failed recovery effort and just say I drank because I drank. It isn't just semantics.