AA Makes You Powerless

But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

AA is another philosophy, a vain collection of thoughts and practices brought together from other religious programs, none of which had strong records of success for those who attended.

The program claims that people need something more than "human resources", yet the Twelve Step program is of human origins to begin with.

Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?

Well, that's exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem. That means we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about God. Here difficulty arises with agnostics. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. But his face falls when we speak of spiritual matters, especially when we mention God, for we have re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or entirely ignored.

AA claims that the program helps people get power, yet the program teaches people to identify with the very problem that they are trying to overcome.

Whatever "power" that this program claims to offer, the claims rank far below the actual program of action:

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will.(AA, pg 85)

This power is not very powerful, if a man has to keep working a program to remain sober.

In fact, how can "alcoholism" be a problem if the person is defined, identifies with it?

If you are an "alcoholic", then you should enjoy drinking, getting drunk, and look forward to drinking yourself to death.

AA makes people "powerless" by having them admit in the first step:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

We are powerless over alcohol, in that a man cannot stop drinking. This step has lured many into this terrible program, yet the problems which cause the alcohol addiction, plus many other perversions, go much deeper.

For the record, the AA program does not work, with a staggering 95% who do not get sober in the meetings, followed by the remaining five percent who rely on medication to remain stable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

If we are powerless, then we are not insane, since we are fully aware that we have a drinking problem. Insanity is a complete break with reality, in which a man cannot know right from wrong. With alcohol addiction, and other perversions, men and women know fully well that they have a problem. That is not insanity.