Bankrupt Idealists

Early A.A. was nearly pulled off its purpose by its own big dreams. Bill W. admitted it (A.A. Comes of Age): "We thought our society of Alcoholics Anonymous might prove to be the spearhead of a new spiritual advance. Our principles might transform the world!" A spearhead is the point that leads a charge. Sober for the first time in years, the early members imagined fixing politics, factories and everything else. Bill said why: "How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists." A bankrupt idealist is someone who wanted to do great good and ran out of everything trying. The danger was that A.A. would chase the whole world and lose the one person it could actually reach. What the founders found instead was a paradox, something that sounds backwards but is true: "The more A.A. sticks to its primary purpose, the greater will be its helpful influence everywhere." The Long Form makes that each group's rule: "but one primary purpose—that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers" (Big Book, p. 563). Today the dream comes back when a group wants to be a voice for every recovery cause in town. Test it tonight: ask whether your group's plans for this year are about changing the world or reaching one more drinker.