Thank you Jared

It's refreshing in a history forum to see a
posting with citation and source reference
rather than assertion and editorial. The
following citation is from the very first
chapter drafted by Bill W in preparation for
the publication of the Big Book. That chapter
is "There Is a Solution" (pgs 24-25):

"When this sort of thinking is fully established
in an individual with alcoholic tendencies, he
has probably placed himself beyond human aid,
and unless locked up, may die or go permanently
insane. These stark and ugly facts have been
confirmed by legions of alcoholics throughout
history. But for the grace of God, there would
have been thousands more convincing demonstrations.
So many want to stop but cannot.

====================

AA's popular slogan plaques were first published
in 5 Grapevine issues from September-December1956
and February 1957. Four slogans are from the Big
Book: "But for the Grace of God" is from the
chapter "There Is A Solution" (on pg 25) as noted
above.

"Easy Does It," "First Things First" and "Live
and Let Live" are from the chapter "The Family
Afterward" (on pg 135). The slogan "Think,
Think, Think" is a bit of a mystery. Some say
it originated in Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-1940s,
however, its actual source is unknown.

The following is posted on the AA.org web site
at http://aa.org/subpage.cfm?page=287

". Q: What's the history of typical AA slogans
like "First Things First" and "One Day at a Time"?

A. We don't have a great deal of information
about the origins of AA's slogans and acronyms,
but we can provide some sharing and preliminary
information. Many of these slogans, as with
other practices in AA, were simply passed
along verbally to other members, so it is
impossible to know who started using them first.
It is possible that some of the slogans may
have originally stemmed from a part of the
Oxford Group Movement language, but it could
also be that they were original with Bill and
Dr. Bob and the early members.

Members have always inquired as to the origins
of various slogans, and it has always been
difficult to narrow down; in our research, we
discovered a letter written by former GSO
Archivist, Frank M., dated 1989, who responded
to a similar question that was posed to him.
This was Frank's response,

"Your interest in the origins of 'One Day at a
Time' is shared by many of us. Like hand-holding,
however, it's difficult to pin-point the exact
'moment.'"

That is the problem we find with most of our
AA slogans, unfortunately!

We do know, however, that many slogans commonly
heard have been around since the early days of
the Fellowship. In December of 1958 Ruth Hock
(non-alcoholic), who was AA's first secretary,
wrote a response to a similar question concerning
different slogans. In her reply Ruth wrote:

"Bill [W.] and I first worked together in January
1936 when he had been sober just a little over
one year and at that time 'Easy Does It,' 'Live
and Let Live,' and 'First Things First,' were
part of the daily conversation. They were also
used in the very first drafts of the book, but
probably only Bill himself could tell you where
he picked them up.

"As far as I'm concerned all of the above were
introduced into A.A. by Bill W. himself although
not original with him. "Some of these could have
been used in Oxford Group meetings but there is
no way for sure."

In addition to Ruth's response, page 220 of
Bill W.'s biography, Pass It On, also addresses
this topic:

"Some 'A.A. saws' were also used as long ago as
the late 1930s: 'First Things First,' 'Easy Does
It,' 'Live and Let Live.' Because these appear
in the first edition of the Big Book (at the end
of the chapter on 'The Family Afterward'), it's
probable that the use of the slogans originated
with Bill and that he brought them with him from
Vermont - old saws with new teeth. ."

====================

In regard to the Traditions, they are to the
Legacy of Unity what the Steps are to the Legacy
of Recovery and what the Concepts are to the
Legacy of Service - namely, the core spiritual
principles of the Three Legacies. The Traditions
are a body of spiritual principles whose objective
is unity not lock-step conformity. Likewise, by
explicit statement in its own Charter (Article
12), the Conference does not function in a
governance role. The Conference Charter has 12
Articles, the 12th of which is also called "The
General Warranties of the Conference" or just
"Warrantees" for short. The 6 Warrantees in
Article 12 are a condensed version of the
Traditions to ensure that the Conference always
functions in the spirit of the Traditions.

In 1962, the General Warranties of the Conference
formed Concept 12 of the Twelve Concepts for
World Service.

The slogans are most definitely Conference-
approved. The 1952 Conference approved a list
(proposed by a special Trustees Committee on
Literature) of the then existing literature
items that were to be retained with Conference-
approval. Among those items were the Big Book
and the Long form of the Traditions (previously
released as a pamphlet in 1947). The 5 slogan
signs have been available as published AA
literature from the Grapevine for decades.

How someone wishes to view or interpret the
word "addiction" or any other term is a matter
of their individual conscience and it is
neither right nor wrong based on any notion
of Conference-approval - "Conference-approval"
has never been intended to be used in that
manner.

Literature is Conference-approved, thought is not.

Bill W was very explicit in "AA Comes of Age"
in stating: "For example, in its original "long
form," Tradition Four [sic - should be Tradition
Three] declares: 'Any two or three gathered
together for sobriety may call themselves an
A.A. group, provided that as a group they have
no other affiliation.' This means that these
two or three alcoholics could try for sobriety
in any way they liked. They could disagree with
any or all of A.A.'s principles and still call
themselves an A.A. group. But this ultra-liberty
is not so risky as it looks. In the end the
innovators would have to adopt A.A. principles
- at least some of them in order to remain sober
at all. If, on the other hand, they found something
better than A.A., or if they were able to improve
on our methods, then in all probability we would
adopt what they discovered for general use
everywhere. This sort of liberty also prevents
A.A. from becoming a frozen set of dogmatic
principles that could not be changed even when
obviously wrong. ."

Cheers

Arthur



-----Original Message-----

From: J. Lobdell
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 10:15 AM
Subject: RE: "Powerless over people places things"

"There but for the Grace of God [goes old John Bradford]" is the first use I
know (1550?) of the phrase in English -- said, by a former paymaster of the
King's forces at Calais who had embezzled funds (possibly for drinking), but
been converted by Hugh Latimer and made amends and restitution, on seeing
another embezzler of the King's funds being taken away to execution. There
is no particular question of predestination, nor is the phrase peculiar to
alcoholics -- in fact it was popularized long before the word "alcoholic"
existed. It refers quite simply to the fact that we (whoever we may be)
don't recover (from any sin or sickness) by our own unaided efforts -- and
I'm not sure that should be contentious in A.A., or elsewhere.



> From: jennylaurie1@...
> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:46:39 +0000
> Subject: RE: "Powerless over people places things"
>
>
> Among the plethora of ideas discussed by our pioneers - for example,
establishing "AA" hospitals - about the only one to survive was the decision
to publish the Big Book. Early members were aware that the message could be
diluted, distorted and misrepresented when passed on orally. The slogans
which adorn the walls at so many AA meetings are not Conference-approved;
though three of them appear at the end of chapter nine in the Big Book, viz:
First Things First; Live and Let Live; Easy Does It. One slogan - There but
for the grace of God - is contentious, suggesting as it does that some
alcoholics are chosen for salvation and others condemned. Likewise, the
Serenity Prayer is not Conference-approved, though undoubtedly an
established part of our oral tradition. So, unless tested by the
Fellowship's group conscience as expressed at Conference, expressions heard
at meetings, like e.g. Keep it simple stupid, should be taken with a pinch
of salt. Some are more helpful than others; some are contrary to our
tradition, e.g. "It (addiction) is all the same illness."
>
> Laurie A.



> From: jdf10487@...
> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:36:02 -0700
> Subject: RE: "Powerless over people places things"

> AA has a rich oral tradition which includes many sayings, slogans and
common expressions.
>
> Some of these expressions can be found in the AA literature and others
can't. Regardless of that fact, these saying and slogans are as much a part
of authentic AA History as the coffee pot. AA is as AA does, and AA does
use sayings and slogans. It always has and I believe that it always will.
>
> Sincerely, Jim F.



> From: johnlawlee@... <johnlawlee@...>
> Subject: RE: "Powerless over people places things"
> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 4:56 AM
>
> The topic is "powerless over people, places and things", wnich cliche is
absent from the basic literature of AA, NA and Al-Anon. The topic is not
"people, places and things." According to the Unofficial Big Book Search
Engine, the word "people" is found on 78 pages of the basic text. "People"
isn't the topic either. You won't find the cliche "powerless over people
places things" in the basic literature of AA. You won't find it in the basic
literature of NA or Al-Anon either. You won't locate the recommendation
"avoid people places and things" in the basic literature of those three
fellowships, although that nugget is heard frequently in rehabs, AA meetings
and NA meeetings. You'll hear the chanting of "keep coming back" at
virtually every AA meeting, but that's not in the basic text of AA either. I
don't believe you'll find it in the Bigger Book either [the one with the
black cover and ribbon]. Christ never said, "Keep coming back." He
> said, "Heal the sick...Freely have you received, freely give." In AA we
carry the message to those who still suffer.
> Pass it on.
> John Lee
> Pittsburgh



> From: Robert Stonebraker <rstonebraker212@ comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: "People places things"
> Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 5:50 PM
>
> The inquiry comes from the previous message concerning the validity of page
> Dr. Paul's quote from page 417.
>
> The answer:
>
> The stories in the second section of the book are not considered as the
> clear cut directions. Please read page 29: "Further on clear cut
directions
> are given showing how we recovered. These are followed by forty-two
> personal experiences. "
>
> The personal experiences are not the clear cut directions.
>
> Bob S.



> From bridgetsbuddy
> Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:39 AM
> Subject: Re: "People places things"
>
> What about this one? "When I am disturbed, it is because I find some
person,
> place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me,
> and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or
> situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment."
> ("Acceptance was the Answer," BB, 4th Ed., p.417) No?
>