Should Alcoholics Anonymous drop the 'Anonymous'?

In a time when many of us disclose the most intimate details of our lives on Facebook and Twitter, why are alcoholics still anonymous?

"I'm David Colman, and I’m an alcoholic," neuroscientist David Colman writes in a recent article for The New York Times. "In the 15 years since I quit drinking, I’ve neither spoken nor written those words, and now, in doing so, I have more or less violated the first-name-only tenet of Alcoholics Anonymous."

A.A.’s 11th Tradition states, "We need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films."

But alcoholics are wondering, doesn't the enforced secrecy further stigmatize alcoholics? And why shouldn't "graduates" be able to speak freely and proudly about a program that helped them?

"More and more, anonymity is seeming like an anachronistic vestige of the Great Depression, when A.A. got its start and when alcoholism was seen as not just a weakness but a disgrace," Colman says.

We'd have to agree. In this day and age, there are plenty of worse things to be than an alcoholic -- especially one who has sought help.

Do you think Alcoholics Anonymous should come up with a new name?