Shameless

 I'm a shameless plagiarizer . .  . . . 

Here's a section from an A.A. approved pamphlet called "Questions and Answers on Sponsorship: "In A.A., sponsor and sponsored meet as equals, just as Bill and Dr. Bob did.  Sponsorship is yours for the asking.  We urge you.  Do not delay.  Alcoholics recovered in A.A. want to share what they have learned with other alcoholics.  We know from experience that our own sobriety is greatly strengthened when we give it away."

I do find it interesting that A.A. believes that a sponsor and sponsee meet as equals.  I should remember this the next time I feel the urge to tell someone else what to do.

I also find it interesting that there's an emphasis on how important and helpful it is to "give it away."  The Dead Sea - with no inflow or outflow - is devoid of life.  The Red Sea - with fresh water coming in and flowing away - teems with life.

And here's more from the good doctor: "We live in a fear-promoting society.  It is the business of advertisers to stoke our anxieties about what we have.  Even in good times the public perception of the risk of becoming a crime victim is exaggerated.  Meanwhile, the real risks to our welfare - smoking, overeating, not fastening seat belts, social injustice, and the people we elect to office - provoke little anxiety.  These phobias serve as a distraction from more fundamental and troubling fears.  Rather than be afraid of these real threats to our well-being, we are easily persuaded that our maximum danger resides in some foreign place inhabited by those who wish us ill."

I often visit the web site of a certain news organization that has a strong partisan bias just to see what the other side is talking about.  I shake my head at the crap I see.  Much of it is local news.  Most of the rest shows pictures of people that the site's partisans see as a threat and an enemy and that I see as harmless distractions.  And the final nail in the coffin is how often real events or discussions are magnified and weaponized when they're taken out of context.  We shouldn't walk down dark alleys in dangerous parts of town, sure, but we're also unlikely to be murdered in our bed tonight.