Bill Wilson

Picture of my hero (google images (wikipedia))

Alcohol related mortality rates have reached a high of 24,518 in the year of 2011. With the stand of one man that number decreases daily, all because of one organization, Alcoholics Anonymous. By 1950, 100,000 recovered alcoholics could be found worldwide. Alcoholics Anonymous has long been known for the anonymity of its members. But there is one man who couldn't stay anonymous, the founder of the organization, Bill Wilson. Beginning in the 1930s, Wilson and his partner Dr. Bob Smith began helping alcoholics overcome their addiction as a way of maintaining their own sobriety. In my eyes a hero possesses selflessness and integrity, and I think Wilson does this in AA. He's honest and whole with the members of his organization and always put them before himself, never letting his ego or publicity come before them. Bill Wilson is one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, working for the health and wellbeing of others through the hardships of overcoming alcohol addiction.

Organizations symbol (http://www.12stepsource.com/Pages/AA_Quotes.aspx ())

Bill Wilson is a great example of a selfless man through the starting of AA. Although the organization attracted a lot of attention he focused on the well being of other alcoholics, he remained anonymous. "Because AA members identify themselves only by their first name and last initial--a policy intended to emphasize the importance of putting "principles before personalities"--few knew of Wilson's accomplishments until after his death from emphysema and pneumonia in 1971. With his permission (granted in a signed statement dating back to 1966), obituaries revealed the identity of "Bill W." in their profiles of a man who shunned personal gain and prestige to save the lives of those who, like him, were slaves to alcohol." William Griffith Wilson" Before Wilson's death few even knew of his accomplishments, his policy was to put personality before principles. In this quote it states that Bill Wilson kept his identity almost a secret, he strived to help the lives of others as he "shunned personal gain". So many men and women were involved with this organization, and Wilson just saw himself as one of them, he saw himself as someone who needed as much help as they did. "With nearly two million members worldwide who meet in over eighty-five thousand local chapters, Alcoholics Anonymous is unquestionably the largest organization of its kind in existence today. It has also inspired numerous similar programs for compulsive drug users, gamblers, overeaters, and other troubled people determined to conquer their addictions--thanks in large part to the work of a man who once described himself as "just another guy named Bill who can't handle booze." Though Wilson did not think highly of himself he created an empire that served millions of fellow alcoholics. Wilson saw himself as just another alcoholic he never put himself in front of anyone. Not even the striving organization of AA could make Wilson selfish.

"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful." (Edward R. Murrow), this quote possesses exactly what Wilson does. Wilson promoted truthfulness with self-acceptance and honesty with not only others but themselves. "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives had become unmanageable..Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it..Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection." (Alcoholics Anonymous) Through his organization he proves that honesty and admittance can bring progress toward your goals. The point is that they're willing to try and be better people. Wilson never wanted to be dishonest with his members, and he thought his ego was getting bigger than his dream for the organization so he began to create the policies for AA. "In 1938 Wilson began dictating Alcoholics Anonymous (1939), affectionately known as "the big book"; he would finish a chapter, read it to his AA group and then listen relaxed but alert, as debate stretched into the night. Wilson formed Alcoholics Foundation in 1938 and began a fervid publicity campaign to raise money. In the 1940's he ended this campaign, believing that he had been putting his own ego before the needs of the group; he then began to advocate the policies of anonymity, corporate poverty, and non-professionalism, which became hallmarks of AA." (William Griffith Wilson) These policies were basically the grounds of the organization, admitting that no one was better than anyone else there. He didn't want anything coming between him and his organization. Wilsons' integrity and honesty made his organization what it is today, bringing the members together in a way like no other organization had, for once they were being complete with themselves.

Alcoholics Anonymous has raised awareness and has helped millions of members across the nation, all because of this man. All because of one little organization that started from almost nothing, countless people have been saved. Wilson continued to provide support and encouragement from AA headquarters in New York City. He wrote a history of AA, Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age (1957), set out a program for the future in Twelve Concepts for World Service (1962), and gathered excerpts of his many articles into The AA Way of Life as Bill Sees It (1967). Constantly traveling, he would drop in on meetings where he would inevitably be recognized and called upon to share his experience; the founder of AA could never be truly anonymous. At the time of his death in Miami where he was receiving medical treatment for emphysema, Wilson's organization had grown to nearly half a million members, with groups in the United States and eighty-eight other countries." (William Griffith Wilson) Not just through his organization, but even through books Wilson has been able to reach out to Alcoholics. These books have raised awareness since 1957, changing the lives of the men and women who read them. Although Wilson had achieved many great things, he could not raise awareness by himself, he needed some help from the others in the organization. They needed to help each other get through it. The idea behind Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was conceived when Bill W. And Dr. Bob S. met in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Bill W. recognized what was to become one of the fundamental principles of the organization: an alcoholic can best be helped by someone who has been there and come back, a sober alcoholic. Someone who understands what you are going through can help you to overcome the arduous obstacle of alcoholism. Wilson proves that telling others what you're going through can help you significantly, and while doing this you're raising awareness for the cause. Wilson raises awareness for alcoholics and the hardships they're faced with.

"You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions."- Adlin Sinclar. Bill Wilson teaches the members in his organization to be more accepting, and honest with themselves. Through his organization, Wilson inspires men and women everywhere to go after goals no matter how impossible they may seem. "In the wake of my spiritual experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics, each identifying with and transmitting his experience to the next -- chain style. If each sufferer were to carry the news of the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming spiritual experience. This concept proved to be the foundation of such success as Alcoholics Anonymous has since achieved." Wilson inspires me personally in many ways. Not only do I look up to his honest, and modest ways I look up to his overall cause for the better. Growing up with an alcoholic family member wasn't always the easiest as a child. Seeing someone you love destroying their lives with alcohol was heartbreaking. In June of 2009, my father joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Not only did Bill Wilson save my family, but he saved someone close to me. Bill Wilson's selfless and honest ways have helped so many families achieve something they once believed to be impossible. Many wouldn't think of Bill Wilson as a hero, many wouldn't even know who he was. But to countless others, he's a life saver, and an inspiration. His selfless ways have taught me to believe that anything is possible, and that to me is a hero.

Works Cited
"Alcoholics Anonymous."American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 4: 1930-1939. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 579-582. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 10 Dec. 2012
"ARCHIVES AND HISTORY." Alcoholics Anonymous: . Alcoholics Anonymous, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. .
"Bill W." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 30. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Conext. Web. 5 Dec. 2012