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From: Bo S.
Category: Category 1
Date: 06 May 2002
Time: 22:08:30
Remote Name: 216.0.47.235
Dear Fellow Members,
I just returned from my second NA weekend in a month. Thankfully, it was enjoyable and not exhausting. I have tended to 'work' a lot, discussing issues and listening to members and their concerns. I did some of that but slept, swam and casually caught up on how members are doing. I particular, we had a man die last year who had a weak heart. The familiy buried him so quickly, we had to way to attend the funeral, so the idea of having a 'wake' for him came up. It would be a worthy dream to come true because this little man helped a multitude get clean and stay clean. From putting members up at his home to getting us booths at major health fairs so the medical profession would know more about us, he always found a way to help. I printed him some bumper stickers one time for the cost of material so he could raise the thousands needed to attend the World Convention in Australia. He moved to Texas and NA began in Beaumont. He worked hard to build the Panama City Fun in the Sun Convention into a warm and caring event, fighting the committee tooth and nail to set up a room with food so that no one goes hungry. His first heart attack required multiple bypass surgery about twenty years ago, so NA helped give him an twenty year extra lease on life as well as improving the quality. Especially since Lynn was not so 'recognized' in his lifetime, it would be very correct and satisfying to attend his wake.
I have a real dream that we will in time overcome our problems. I have puzzled over what has gone wrong with World Services endless hours in the last twenty years. From a friendly, attractive, simple service effort into a strict, weird, corporate malaisse that is not clearly understood by anyone I know. It is not easy to complain or criticize people who are working hard for us and doing well in many instances. One recent example of a problem area has come to my attention. One of the men who played a crucial and absolutely necessary role in getting our Basic Text written is Joe P. out of Memphis, Tennessee. The work he did for you not only in getting the fantastic printing jobs done but also in just getting people to show up and talk to one another is the stuff of science fiction. Many people credit me with playing the major role in getting our Basic Text done. But I tell you, without the Joe P.'s and the Jim M.'s, there would be no book. The amount of money that ran through the accounts in Memphis was around $40,000. Along with the printing of thousands of copies of the Grey Review Form, the White Approval Form and the Stories, the shipping the phone bill and no pay for Joe or any who helped him, Joe got almost all our printing and mailing done. We did a little in Marietta. From Memphis, a free Group copy was sent to every group in the world. This included searching for and finding many groups in communities around the world.
Several years ago, Joe was at the World Service Conference after an interval of many years. He was called in early to a 'special session' and attacked by a team of professionals for the money he took in and paid out from records he himself provided. He was criticized for getting his phone cut off. We all had our phones cut off in those years! The way I heard it, the number of people gang banging Joseph was around thirty, could have been more. As quick as one accusation was raised and Joeseph tried to explain what happened another jumped in. How about this? How about that? All from people who had not been there and had no idea of how gracious, loyal and devoted this man was. The WSO had sold its millionth copy in the early 1990's at $8.00 or more and here these WSO bean counters were taking one of our guys apart on a long list of suppositions and projections. By the most far out imaginary reasoning for doing this would be: we are the WSO and we want to discourage members from doing this so we will take out this one guy who did such a great job to keep others from following in his footsteps. Our need to have complete control of the printing and distribution of materials is so great, we will sacrifice this one member. Well, that's just not right! And it will never be all right! Joe P. has a right to know that he is given some measure of positive recognition for his many years of service. And the forces within our world service system need to know that we will always find them out and deal with injustices like this one. I have mentioned all this to at least one of my friends currently in World Services and I could tell, he didn't want to bring it up. Let by gones be by gones. Well, if anything needs to be a bygone, let attacking our volunteer service workers be by gone. Many, many, many of you are alive because of Joe P.
There are other things. One of the main ones to me is my dissatisfaction with the discontinuance of the maintainance of a World Directory of Meetings. Bob Stone helped instigate this over the compexity and the expense. This was in the days before microcomputers began to catch up with tv sets. "By the time it is printed, the directory is out of date." was the cry. From my personal experience, it is hard to keep a directory up to date without a broad scale, co-ordinated effort. But is it not impossible. Each sucessive printing would be a little more up to date. I believe the effort would be worthwhile because of the impact on members who travel but more so on home group members who feel a real part of NA. In the past there were a couple of wildcat mailouts to groups by private individuals. Most of the mailings were no more than curiosities to group members and while it was something of an abuse of privacy, it also must have been very important to whoever did the mailings. Today, there is no reason why members who want a World Directory of Meetings should not have one. Most of the information is on the Internet. If members sent in a form about inaccurate or out of date meeting information, each incorrect entry could be dealt with in time it takes to write this line.
For the record, I realize that many members get clean and develop a jaundiced view of the Fellowship and our Service Structure from the beginning. They walk into a meeting and in the air of friendliness and interpersonal concern, they see nothing but opportunities to exploit the good nature and take advantage of people. If they are an auto mechanic, they see customers. If they are in the insurance business, they see policies. If they are into heavy sex, they see vulnerable hearts. There is no way to keep these people out and all of us fall into these things however careful we may be. Many times, we have to cross the line to see the line and correct ourselves. NA is a brave new world. It is part of our obligation to our newer members to be proof to these tests and not allow ourselves to be taken in by the games. We are surrendered, not stupid.
I would like to see members who are attending the World Service Conference required to vote as directed by their regions, areas and groups. Allowing them to change the regional vote 1) in light of new information and 2) because they 'feel' it is best for the Fellowship reduces our World Service Conference to a side show to pass motions in accord with a small group who think they run things. This 'small group' is part of human nature and while it is important to recognize that this tendancy exists, it is also important to be on guard against a few people running the show. It kills the group spirit. The freedom of information and openness of expression is what was so attractive in the Seventies and Eighties. It gave us a way of merging all our viewpoints into a coherent force that most everyone supported because they were all in on it. Losing this camradery and group spirit in favor of efficiency or making more money is out of line in a spiritual Fellowship. It is correct only for a corporation and NA is not a corporation.
I see better as possible and hope to be there when the Spirit of NA rises again on some bright new horizon.
In Loving Service,
Bo S.