Harold got sober and then got active in politics at the state and national level. He was Governor and then U.S. Senator. His story came out in Look magazine. When it became obvious he would not be able to keep them from printing his affiliation with AA at the national level, he decided to cooperate to add truth to the story where possible. He received much grief from the AA community for this approach. He was a powerful advocate for the government acceptance of alcoholism as a disease. He favored alternative sentencing guidelines for judges giving them options for handling cases where alcoholism was the principle factor in the crime. He left the Senate voluntarily to join a series of spiritual and faith based causes.
This is a good talk of historical significance, sharing experience with drinking and recovery with an emphasis on encouraging AA Members to get involved in service inside and outside of the Program
(55 min) (12.7 MB) (id#343)