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From: Bo S.
Category: Category 1
Date: 11 Apr 2002
Time: 12:29:12
Remote Name: 216.0.47.235
Thanks for the kind words. I am sure there is a huge number of NA's who feel the same.
One of the things recovery did for me was open up a way to really see and hear other people. Being their servant on something as comprehensive and tangible as the Basic Text, gave me a lasting respect and admiration for the 'spirit of recovery' in people. This is the well spring from which all good things come to us addicts. And like any spring, it only matters that you are thirsty and get there in time.
The problem with World Services is that after Jimmy Kinnon left the Office, nobody wanted any more 'one man rule', so what follows is a hilarious/sad side show of cheesy bastards running the Fellowship where no one is supposed to know. The most telling line in the mountain of wasted paper tracking the changes in World Services is where someone - apparently new and not so hip to the military coup - said, "I've been told that the service structure we are setting in place is actually how things have been done for years in reality." Meaning what? That the checks and balances, the open information policies and making sure the Fellowship had all sides to something before asking the to vote were short circuited so that a few jerks could feel important? See, that is what disheartens some members. They surrender, follow the service structure, and when they find out someone at World is not following the rules, they go ape-shit wild!!! Then, they leave NA. Bob Stone in his book, "My Years with Narcotics Anonymous", has certainly painted a vivid picture of just how easy it is to be active in NA and not have a clue. Don't get me wrong, he did a lot of good and I am convinced he held more sick egos in check than anyone else could have. But so often he points to certain people and says, "So and so didn't like the member elected to chair a WSC Sub-Committee, so they got no support that year. That is not OK. It is not OK for a Conference Office to sub-serve a sub-committee just for personal reasons. But boy, does he ever lay out a picture. God, no wonder it has taken us so long to grow. After Jimmy, Chuck S. was probably king of the mountain, then several others. The point I am making here is that instead of our work on the Basic Text being greeted with warmth and enthusiasm, it was greeted with hatred, envy and efforts to diminish not only the book but also the writers of the Basic Text. In some cases this was done quickly. A series of incompetent Lit Chairs undid what had been built up to write the book. The did not do this deliberately, they were uninformed. Assurances from their controllers gave them no reason to look further. Getting the word out, collecting the material and structuring the spiritual service committees to process the material was an art form. So, the hired some paint by number artists to continue the work. Two of the saddest examples of their inadequacy are when a member traveled from Pennsylvania to Southern California to hand deliver some material that was scheduled for a Friday discussion, he was told that the matter had already been resolved - i.e. without the input. So, he followed the chairperson around for fifteen minutes until he saw the material carefully placed in the waste basket. He retrieved the material and went home. I am only giving these examples so that my remarks will not be taken as vague implications. The other example is when I personally watched a room full of members who had traveled from several hundred miles and a few much more to attend a weekend long World Literature Committee meeting and not be allowed to speak or even be recognized for the whole weekend. That's what I mean by sub-service. They broke up the committee.
The reason I don't go nuts is because I am the inventor of some of these things and well know that they can be created again. All it takes is a few willing members. But you know that. The important thing, I think, is to agree that NA proceeds from the Home Group. There is no distant point where you can go and find out about NA. Everything you need is right there before you. Travel can confirm this but I doubt you travel will deny it. So, we are OK as individuals and as a Fellowship. The good stuff from World Services will continue to have positive effect at the group, area and regional level. The bad stuff is filtered out naturally and the only effect there is disorientation and finding out that we have to do for ourselves. And that's ok, really ok. It means that the Steps and Traditions are real and that while individuals and power groups have really gone wrong on occasion, there is no revenge required for peace and we just keep on keeping on.
In Loving Service,
Bo S.