Moral Weakness?

　　 Looking for excuses, the denial part of my addiction to alcohol is different from all of the above. The bitch part is that since 90% of people can drink socially and are not addicted to alcohol, my alcoholism is far too often seen as a moral weakness rather than a disease. It is no small irony that our culture's denial of alcohol's addictive potential plays a part in relapse. After a sustained period of sobriety, it is no wonder that people in recovery think that they can begin drinking as the rest of the non-alcoholic world drinks. 　

　　 Once I start drinking, I can't stop. Woe, but were it so simple. It's staying stopped, living sober, that's the problem. A program of recovery, a sobriety maintenance regimen, is what time and relapse after relapse have finally taught me. "A daily reprieve, that's all I have." That's AA lingo and my experience has shown it to be true. Staying connected with other alcoholics keeps me connected with my disease　and the disastrous effects of my "built-in forgetter".

from All Drinking Aside (Rough Draft, Chapter 67)