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Sunday, May 30, 2021
Made a Decision (15)
“The Steps protect me from myself;
the Traditions protect AA from me.”
Made a Decision (15)
“The Steps protect me from myself;
the Traditions protect AA from me.”
Traditions 10, 11 and 12
There's an AA saying - "If you want to hide something from an alcoholic, put it in the Big Book."
I'm going to now add to that, "And if you can't find your Big Book, just put it in the Twelve and Twelve."
These two books - the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions - teach AA members exactly what the AA Program offers us. What works - and what doesn't.
Members who don't like to read can find both books in an audio format. There are also AA book study meetings for both online and in person meetings all over the world. So there are really no excuses for not knowing what's in there.
When we do not know what is contained in these books we actually do not know the AA program.
We'll hear a lot of different ideas in our meetings that have nothing to do with what AA actually teaches about staying sober. Some of those ideas we'll hear are actually quite helpful, but many are not.
When we have learned what our AA literature really says, we can make use of what others have to offer that will be helpful - and more easily reject suggestions that won't.
You might stay sober without knowing the two books, of course. You might even stay sober for years. But will you have the best quality sober life that's available to us?
I really - seriously - doubt it.
I am now going to quote something from AA's 12 & 12.
I am now going to quote something from AA's 12 & 12.
Don't panic - I've broken it down into small easy chunks for you. Here goes:
The Washingtonian Society, a movement among alcoholics which started in Baltimore a century ago, almost discovered the answer to alcoholism.
The Washingtonian Society, a movement among alcoholics which started in Baltimore a century ago, almost discovered the answer to alcoholism.
At first, the society was composed entirely of alcoholics trying to help one another. The early members foresaw that they should dedicate themselves to this sole aim. In many respects, the Washingtonians were akin to A.A. of today.
Their membership passed the hundred thousand mark.
Had they been left to themselves, and had they stuck to their one goal, they might have found the rest of the answer. But this didn't happen.
Instead, the Washingtonians permitted politicians and reformers, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, to use the society for their own purposes.
Abolition of slavery, for example, was a stormy political issue then. Soon, Washingtonian speakers violently and publicly took sides on this question. Maybe the society could have survived the abolition controversy, but it didn't have a chance from the moment it determined to reform America's drinking habits.
When the Washingtonians became temperance crusaders, within a very few years they had completely lost their effectiveness in helping alcoholics.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 178
The reason I have quoted this from the 12 & 12 is because, while every tradition is important to the survival of AA, none are more so than Tradition Ten.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 178
The reason I have quoted this from the 12 & 12 is because, while every tradition is important to the survival of AA, none are more so than Tradition Ten.
The very thought of misusing the tenth tradition has the power to frighten me.
It follows:
Tradition Ten: Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
It's possible some of our very own ancestors died of our disease after the Washingtonian Society folded, giving our forebears nowhere to turn to for help.
Dr. Bob and Bill W. were very familiar with the history of the Washingtonian Society and its effectiveness in helping alcoholics. They were also familiar with how that organization crashed and burned.
Tradition Ten: Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
It's possible some of our very own ancestors died of our disease after the Washingtonian Society folded, giving our forebears nowhere to turn to for help.
Dr. Bob and Bill W. were very familiar with the history of the Washingtonian Society and its effectiveness in helping alcoholics. They were also familiar with how that organization crashed and burned.
They knew about the Oxford Group and its efforts to help alcoholics, too. It was
a Christian organization that taught the root of all problems were the personal problems of fear and selfishness.
The Oxford Group still reaches out today to alcoholics and addicts with its principles for recovery. AA's founders used and expanded upon those same principles in the writing of our own 12-steps.
So - as it recommends in our books - our founders made use of what religion had to offer. They also reminded us of the dangers inherent in going outside our own sphere of knowledge when they gave us our Tradition Ten.
So - as it recommends in our books - our founders made use of what religion had to offer. They also reminded us of the dangers inherent in going outside our own sphere of knowledge when they gave us our Tradition Ten.
Some Bullet Points for Tradition Ten:
1. Individual members have every right to hold opinions on any subject, but sharing those opinions at the public level while identifying as a member of AA is an AA no-no.
2. No individual AA member is “the voice” of AA, either in meetings or in public.
3. Tradition Ten prevents our good ship of recovery from breaking up on the rocks the way the Washingtonian Society did.
All the Traditions dovetail nicely into one another, but none do so more than Traditions Ten, Eleven and Twelve, so it's logical to expect more about staying on topic as it does in Tradition Eleven.
Tradition Eleven: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
(My note: also on television and every form of social media).
There have been instances in AA’s history of celebrities getting sober in AA, bragging about their sobriety in public while giving all credit to AA, and then later they had a relapse sending them back to the bottle - and more ugly headlines over their drunken antics.Their actions have caused some still-suffering alcoholics to doubt AA’s effectiveness and to never reach out for its help.
Bullet Points for Tradition Eleven
1. While we may not be celebrities, we may still hunger for attention. Tradition Eleven reins in our eager egos.
My own sponsor often says in meetings: "When I got sober I wanted to become famous in an anonymous program." 😆
(In our service actions it never hurts to question if we are genuinely trying to help AA or are busy stoking our own egos?)
2. We can certainly share our experience, strength and hope with friends, family, and those in need of our 12-step help. But we must keep our AA anonymity on public platforms (newspapers, magazines, videos, personal Facebook pages, television, etc.) by not allowing ourselves to be identified by our surnames.
3. Social Media is of special concern for misuse of Tradition Eleven. Newcomers, ignorant of our Traditions, sometimes post direct reference of other AA members by name on these platforms, breaking their anonymity without a moment's hesitation.
(Sponsors need to share the Traditions with their newcomers very early on!)
4. Finally - while I personally believe more people need to know that AA works in the long term to rehabilitate alcoholics and turn them into productive, useful citizens - in doing so we must still always follow Tradition Eleven on every media platform.
We can share that important message of successful long-term sobriety because of AA, but must still protect our anonymity - and the anonymity of others - in the process.
And in 12-step work, it's always also best to acknowledge that AA (wonderful as it truly is) is also not the only path to sobriety. Alcoholics have - and do - get sober and stay sober elsewhere. We just happen to have the best track record.
We are to carry the message - not the alcoholic. We can only share that it has worked for us and suggest someone might want to give it a try. If they chose another path, acceptance - not an argument - is our answer.
Today's note: I have just started a YouTube channel about the disease of alcoholism and the recovery from same, but you will not find my surname anywhere on it. Since I no longer travel and now live in a very isolated place, I'm also certain I won't be personally encountering any regular YouTube watchers. 
I'm doing the videos only after many discussions with trusted AA friends and MUCH soul searching. I truly believe more information about recovery from alcoholism needs to be shared publicly, especially following the huge bump in alcohol consumption that began during the Covid lockdowns.
Tradition Twelve: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, reminding us always to place principles before personalities.
One of the first things we learn in AA is there is a Higher Power in charge of the universe - and it isn't us.
We take no credit for our sobriety. We tried (and tried, and tried, and tried) to get sober and failed miserably until we "came to believe" there was a power greater than ourselves who could ... and would ... and did ... give us the gift of sobriety. (Even if, in early days, we merely saw that Higher Power as the collective wisdom found in our AA groups).
And we learn over time to rely on Tradition Twelve during those times when sticky problems develop within our home group. We don't get into shouting matches. We pause and remember to put the perfect principles of AA recovery before the desires of our imperfect personalities.
Alcoholics often have great enthusiasm and that’s a good thing when reaching out to another suffering alcoholic with the news they don’t have to drink again, that there is help at hand in AA. But … (see the second bullet point for Tradition Eleven.)
Bullet Points for Tradition Twelve:
1. An alcoholic in recovery needs to check their ego at all times, especially so when they find themselves thinking “My way or the highway.”
2. “Attraction rather than promotion” is our goal.
3. The spiritual principles of AA are perfect. We are not.
4. When in doubt, don’t.
One of the first things we learn in AA is there is a Higher Power in charge of the universe - and it isn't us.
We take no credit for our sobriety. We tried (and tried, and tried, and tried) to get sober and failed miserably until we "came to believe" there was a power greater than ourselves who could ... and would ... and did ... give us the gift of sobriety. (Even if, in early days, we merely saw that Higher Power as the collective wisdom found in our AA groups).
And we learn over time to rely on Tradition Twelve during those times when sticky problems develop within our home group. We don't get into shouting matches. We pause and remember to put the perfect principles of AA recovery before the desires of our imperfect personalities.
Alcoholics often have great enthusiasm and that’s a good thing when reaching out to another suffering alcoholic with the news they don’t have to drink again, that there is help at hand in AA. But … (see the second bullet point for Tradition Eleven.)
Bullet Points for Tradition Twelve:
1. An alcoholic in recovery needs to check their ego at all times, especially so when they find themselves thinking “My way or the highway.”
2. “Attraction rather than promotion” is our goal.
3. The spiritual principles of AA are perfect. We are not.
4. When in doubt, don’t.
Our Traditions are what hold us together as a program of recovery for all alcoholics in need of help.
Where would YOU be right now had our founders not hammered these guideliines out that have held AA together all these years?
What would you do today if AA collapsed like earlier recovery programs did - and YOU had no more fellowship to help keep you sober?
Knowing and practicing our Traditions is our debt owed to all those who kept AA in place for us to find in our hour of greatest need.
We also owe our fellow members - and ourselves - an obligation to keep AA strong for all of us here in recovery.
And finally, we owe a debt to those still suffering alcoholics in need of what AA has to offer; those drinking today - and our still unborn future members - all those who will carry AA forward when we ourselves have gone to that "Big Meeting in the Sky."
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