re: #235 Political Atheist

If I had to pin him down, Beck acts like a person who got sober but never got any help with his addiction problem. The “dry drunk” syndrome, which also happens to drug addicts who never really had a drinking problem. In other words, he may not be using, but since he never dealt with why he was using in the first place, the issues are still there with nothing to mask them. I’ve known people like this, the zealotry replaces the substance of choice. My crazy ass wingnut neighbor is like this, he’s an alcoholic who is using religion and politics and an anti-abortion crusade as his drink, to fill the void left over since he got sober. Dave Mustaine is another example, so is Rush Limbaugh.

I’m no expert, but I do know that once you get sober and deal with why you were using, there’s not a lot of room in your life to be ugly and hateful to other people. Of course not everyone who does the work to get sober ends up being a delightful human. But if you work through all your stuff, you will most likely find your journey out of that mess isn’t helped by being a jerk, either for a paycheck or not.