Hugh D. opens his convention talk in Memphis with the Big Book's 'contempt prior to investigation' passage, arguing that this single principle explains why AA hands out far more 30-day chips than one-year cakes. He reframes the common complaint about 'living by principles' — the problem isn't that principles are hard, he says, but that alcoholics have been living by the wrong ones. He ticks off honesty, open-mindedness, willingness, duty, responsibility, kindness, and courtesy, then asks the audience plainly: what is so objectionable about these?
After thanking the committee and his wife Bev for a weekend of Southern hospitality, Hugh turns to the newcomers in the room. He welcomes them into what he calls the largest group of people anywhere who found a way to skip maturity entirely — going straight from adolescence to senility. He compares quitting drinking to making love to a gorilla ('you're not through until the gorilla is through') and closes his opening remarks with an extended joke about an evangelist waiting to get into heaven, only to be upstaged by a little old lady whose teenage driving in a red convertible put the fear of Higher Power in more people than he ever did.
The excerpt captures Hugh's opening style: equal parts Big Book scholarship and vaudeville timing, using humor to disarm the room before delivering pointed observations about why so many people struggle to stay sober past the first month.
There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation. Good morning. My name is Hugh Douglas....
There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation. Good morning. My name is Hugh Douglas. I'm an alcoholic. I like to start off these little sermons with that quotation out of the big book, out of a spiritual experience for a couple of reasons. I have become convinced over these years that it is that contempt prior to investigation that causes us to give out a damn sight more 30-day chips in Alcoholics Anonymous than we do one-year birthday cakes. And I have also heard a lot of people tell me that they have trouble living by principles. I don't think living by principles is the problem. I think it's the principles we've lived by that's the problem. What is so difficult? Living by principles. What's so hard about honesty, open-mindedness, willingness? What's so difficult? What's so hard about duty, responsibility, and obligation? What is so hideous about kindness, courtesy, and consideration? Why are these so objectionable to so many? I have no idea. Perhaps you can enlighten me. I want to take a moment or two to say some things before I start talking this morning. And one of the things I would like to do, of course, is to thank the committee for inviting Bev and I here. We have had one hell of an enjoyable weekend. The South may not be the South anymore, but you have not forgotten what hospitality is. And I have never, ever been treated so well by so many. You have been extremely kind. And I will appreciate that as we go away today. I don't like being the last speaker, necessarily. It has certain advantages. But. It means that it's going to end. But like the Phoenix bird, it will rise again out of its own ashes to fly next year. And about this time next year, I'll be remembering you. And it really isn't important whether you remember me. I'll remember you. I feel somewhat like Elizabeth Taylor's eighth husband. I know exactly what's expected of me. I am just not sure that I can live up to past performance. I would also like to take a moment to say something to you new people who are in here. Those of you who last night identified yourself and those of you who didn't. And tell you, if no one has, that you're a part of a fellowship that has astounded science for a great many years. This is the largest group of people anywhere in the world who have found a way to go from adolescence to senility without ever bothering to pass through maturity. So welcome. And if you're having a little trouble getting rid of the alcohol and quitting drinking, remember one thing, that quitting drinking is like making love to a gorilla. And you are not through until the gorilla is through. And if you feel that your life has served no useful purpose, perhaps you're mistaken about that. It's just that you don't understand the use that God has used you for for so long. And it reminds me of a story I heard once, and I think explains it extremely. Well, it's about a very well-known evangelist who died and went to heaven. And he was sitting in the outer office of St. Peter waiting for his interview. And while he was waiting, a well-known Catholic priest come in. And the girl behind the desk said, go right in, Father. He's waiting for you. And the evangelist could understand this because this priest was well-known and well-loved. And a few moments later, a well-known rabbi come in. And the girl behind the desk says, go right in. He's waiting for you. And he could understand also why this rabbi got in. He was well-known and well-loved. And a few moments later, a little old lady come in. And the girl behind the desk jumped up, ran over, threw her arms around her and hugged her. And she said, Mary, Mary, we're so glad you're here. He's been waiting for you. Go right in. This bothered the evangelist. He went over to the girl. He said, I can understand why the priest got in in front of me. He was well-known and well-loved. And so was the rabbi. I can understand that. But he said, would you mind explaining to me why that little old lady got in in front of me? She said, well, it's really very simple. She said, when that little old lady was only 17 years old, her father gave her a brand new red convertible for her birthday. And in the two years that she drove that car on the streets of Los Angeles, she put the fear of God in the hearts of more people than you did.
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