The Original Long, Long, Long Preamble

 AA Old Preamble - 1940

We are gathered here because we are faced with the fact
that we are powerless over alcohol and unable to do
anything about it without the help of a Power greater than
ourselves.

We feel that each person's religious views, if any, are his
own affair.  The simple purpose of the program of
Alcoholics Anonymous is to show what may be done to
enlist the aid of a Power greater than ourselves regardless
of what our individual conception of that Power may be.

In order to form a habit of depending upon and referring
all we do to that Power, we must at first apply ourselves
with some diligence.  By often repeating these acts, they
become habitual and the help rendered becomes natural to
us.

We have all come to know that as alcoholics we are
suffering from a serious illness for which medicine has no
cure.

Our condition may be the result of an allergy which makes
us different from other people.  It has never been by any
treatment with which we are familiar, permanently cured.
The only relief we have to offer is absolute abstinence, the
second meaning of A.A.

(Ed. Note: I have never heard the suggestion that A.A. can also stand for Absolute Abstinence.)

There are no dues or fees.  The only requirement for
membership is a desire to stop drinking.  Each member
squares his debt by helping others to recover.

An Alcoholics Anonymous is an alcoholic who through
application and adherence to the A.A. program has
forsworn the use of any and all alcoholic beverage in any
form.

(Forsworn: To renounce or deny something, especially under oath.)

The moment he takes so much as one drop of beer, wine,
spirits or any other alcoholic beverage he automatically loses
all status as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

(Ed. Note:  THIS is interesting - the idea that if you drink you're out.  I guess all those times I sat in meetings high meant I wasn't a member.  THAT is news to me.  I can see how that paragraph got booted.)

A.A. is not interested in sobering up drunks who are not
sincere in their desire to remain sober for all time.  Not
being reformers, we offer our experience only to those who
want it.

(Ed. Note: There was definitely a harder edge to The Program early on.  There's a sense today for many of us that if a person isn't serious about getting sober we don't spend time trying to convince them that sobriety's a good thing to do.  Still, the old version sounds pretty unequivocal.  "We're not going to waste our time if you aren't serious."  There's that undertone today, that sense, but it isn't stated quite as bluntly and clearly.)

We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree and
on which we can join in harmonious action.  Rarely have we
seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our
program. Those who do not recover are people who will
not or simply cannot give themselves to this simple
program. Now you may like this program or you may not,
but the fact remains, it works.  It is our only chance to
recover.

(Ed. Note:  Agree: To harmonize in opinion.  Harmonious: Showing accord in feeling or action.  Ha Ha Fucking Ha.  The ridiculousness of these sentiments must have become crystal clear at like the fourth contentious Group Conscience.  We couldn't leave them in with a straight face.)

There is a vast amount of fun in the A.A. fellowship.  Some
people might be shocked at our seeming worldliness and
levity but just underneath there lies a deadly earnestness
and a full realization that we must put first things first and
with each of us the first thing is our alcoholic problem.  To
drink is to die.  Faith must work twenty-four hours a day in
and through us or we perish.

In order to set our tone for this meeting I ask that we bow
our heads in a few moments of silent prayer and
meditation.  I wish to remind you that whatever is said at
this meeting expresses our own individual opinion as of
today and as of up to this moment.

We do not speak for A.A. as a whole and you are free to
agree or disagree as you see fit, in fact, it is suggested that
you pay no attention to anything which might not be
reconciled with what is in the A.A. Big Book.

If you don't have a Big Book, it's time you bought you one.
Read it, study it, live with it, loan it, scatter it, and then
learn from it what it means to be an A.A.

And here is the current version of the A.A. preamble read to open most meetings.  Quite a bit pithier, eh wot?

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.