What are the ideas embodied in the
Twelve Traditions?
Answer
That, touching all matters affecting A.A.
unity, our common welfare should come first;
that A.A. has no human authority - only God
as He may speak in our Group conscience;
that our leaders are but trusted servants,
they do not govern; that any alcoholic may
become an A.A. member if he says so - we
exclude no one; that every A.A. Group may
manage its own affairs as it likes, provided
surrounding groups are not harmed thereby;
that we A.A.'s have but a single aim - the
carrying of our message to the alcoholic who
still suffers; that in consequence we can
not finance, endorse or otherwise lend the
name 'Alcoholics Anonymous' to any other
enterprise, however worthy; that A.A., as
such, ought to remain poor, lest problems of
property, management and money divert us
from our sole aim; that we ought to be
self-supporting, gladly paying our small
expenses ourselves; that A.A. should forever
remain non-professional, ordinary 12th step
work never to be paid for; that, as a
Fellowship, we should never be organized but
may nevertheless create responsible Service
Boards or Committees to insure us better
propagation and sponsorship and that these
agencies may engage full-time workers for
special tasks; that our public relations
ought to proceed upon the principle of
attraction rather than promotion, it being
better to let our friends recommend us; that
personal anonymity at the level of press,
radio and pictures out to be strictly
maintained as our best protection against
the temptations of power or personal
ambition; and finally, that anonymity before
the general public is the spiritual key to
all our traditions, ever reminding us to
place principles before personalities, that
we are actually to practice a genuine
humility. This to the end that our great
blessings may never spoil us; that we shall
forever live in thankful contemplation of
Him who presides over us all. (Tape - Twelve
Traditions, Cleveland, July, 1950) .
Another Answer
We sometimes congratulate ourselves on the
Traditions as though they were a list of
virtues singular to us. Actually, they are a
codification of the lessons of our past
experience during the early days of A.A.
These Traditions are not fixed absolutely.
There may be room for improvement. However,
they should not be lightly cast aside, since
they bear on our unity, survival and growth
under Gods grace."
We are entering a new era of growth with
vast forces tearing at the world. The
problems and difficulties of the future may
be greater than those we have already
survived. Still, there is a love among us
that passeth all understanding and that will
sustain us through all the trials that lie
ahead, no matter how formidable."
(Transcribed from tape, GSC, 1968)
