I could criticize the basic principles of 12-step groups all day long, but the bottom line is that AA helped me put together some pretty significant periods of sobriety over the years. One of my character flaws, in addition to "not being able to be completely honest with myself," is that I have a strong need for novelty. This need has manifested itself in many ways ranging from drug use to my taste in music, to my taste in ideas, to, most importantly, my taste in people. I need a freakshow in my life, and have yet to find an institution better than AA/NA at providing such a collection of freaks.
In the past year I took a teaching job at a university and moved to a small, very conservative town. In my situation, seeking help to stay sober through AA is probably not the answer. Don't let the word "Anonymous" fool you -- people in small towns talk, and I have a public reputation that could be damaged if I were seen at an AA meeting. All it takes is one of my students getting a DWI and seeing me at one of their court-ordered AA meetings for the entire town to know I have a substance problem. Plus AA is standard sentencing for various drug and alcohol-related crimes, which automatically gives the program a "criminal" image in the minds of people unfamiliar with it.
Perhaps I'm just being paranoid. Still, I have a lot at stake that relies on a clean-cut public image, and will find ways other than AA/NA to satisfy my need for novelty.