Tradition Six

[bluidkiti]

AA Tradition Six

"An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose."


The moment we saw we had an answer for alcoholism, it was reasonable (or so it seemed at the time) for us to feel that we might have the answer to a lot of other things. The A.A. groups, many thought, could go into business, might finance any enterprise whatever in the total field of alcoholism. In fact, we felt duty-bound to throw the whole weight of the A.A. name behind any meritorious cause.

Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land , and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill A.A. into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem.

It occurred to us that we could take what we had into the factories and cause laborers and capitalists to love each other. Our uncompromising honesty might soon clean up politics. With one arm around the shoulder of medicine, we'd resolve their differences. Having learned to live so happily, we'd show everybody else how. Why, we thought, our Society of Alcoholics Anonymous might prove to be the spearhead of a new spiritual advance! We might transform the world.

Yes, we of A.A. did dream those dreams. How natural that was, since most alcoholics are bankrupt idealists. Nearly every one of us had wished to do great good, perform great deeds, and embody great ideals. We are all perfectionists who, failing perfection, have gone to the other extreme and settled for the bottle and the blackout. Providence, through A.A., had brought us within reach of our highest expectations. So why shouldn't we share our way of life with everyone?

Whereupon we tried A.A. hospitals-they all bogged down because you cannot put an A.A. group into business; too many busybody cooks spoil the broth. A.A. groups had their fling at education, and when they began to publicly whoop up the merits of this or that brand, people became confused. Did A.A. fix drunks or was it an educational project? Was A.A. spiritual or was it medical? Was it a reform movement? In consternation, we saw ourselves getting married to all kinds of enterprises, some good and some not so good. Watching alcoholics committed will-nilly to prisons or asylums, we began to cry, "There oughtta be a law!" A.A.'s commenced to thump tables in legislative committee rooms and agitated for legal reform. That made good newspaper copy, but little else. We saw we'd soon be mired in politics. Even inside A.A. we found it imperative to remove the A.A. name from clubs and Twelfth Step houses .

These adventures implanted a deep-rooted conviction that in no circumstances could we endorse any related enterprise, no matter how good. We of Alcoholics Anonymous could not be all things to all men, nor should we try.

Years ago this principle of "no endorsement" was put to a vital test. Some of the great distilling companies proposed to go into the field of alcohol education. It would be a good thing, they believed, for the liquor trade to show a sense of public responsibility. They wanted to say that liquor should be enjoyed, not misused; hard drinkers ought to slow down, and problem drinkers-alcoholics-should not drink at all.

In one of their trade associations, the question arose of just how this campaign should be handled. Of course, they would use the resources of radio, press, and films to make their point. But what kind of person should head the job? They immediately thought of Alcoholics Anonymous. If they could find a good public relations man in our ranks, why wouldn't he be ideal? He'd certainly know the problem. His connection with A.A. would be valuable, because the Fellowship stood high in public favor and hadn't an enemy in the world.

Soon they'd spotted their man, an A.A. with the necessary experience. Straightway he appeared at New York's A.A. headquarters, asking, "Is there anything in our tradition that suggests I shouldn't take a job like this one? The kind of education seems good to me, and is not too controversial. Do you headquarters folks see any bugs in it?"

At first glance, it did look like a good thing. Then doubt crept in. The association wanted to use our member's full name in all its advertising; he was to be described both as its director of publicity and as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Of course, there couldn't be the slightest objection if such an association hired an A.A. member solely because of his public relations ability and his knowledge of alcoholism. But that wasn't the whole story, for in this case not only was an A.A. member to break his anonymity at a public level, he was to link the name Alcoholics Anonymous to this particular educational project in the minds of millions. It would be bound to appear that A.A. was now backing education-liquor trade association style.

The minute we saw this compromising fact for what it was, we asked the prospective publicity director how he felt about it. "Great guns!" he said. "Of course I can't take the job. The ink wouldn't be dry on the first ad before an awful shriek would go up from the dry camp. They'd be out with lanterns looking for an honest A.A. to plump for their brand of education. A.A. would land exactly in the middle of the wet-dry controversy. Half the people in this country would think we'd signed up with the drys, the other half would think we'd joined the wets. What a mess!"

"Nevertheless," we pointed out, "you still have a legal right to take this job."

"I know that," he said. "But this is no time for legalities. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, and it comes first. I certainly won't be the guy to land A.A. in big-time trouble, and this would really do it!"


Concerning endorsements, our friend had said it all. We saw as never before that we could not lend the A.A. name to any cause other than our own.

[bluidkiti]

NA TRADITION SIX

"An NA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the NA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose."

Our principles help us avoid certain problems by giving us guidance where we may not see the possibility of error. We addicts are so good at getting caught up in our undertakings; we can glide right past the barriers normal folk would be able to see. The reason we don't allow conflict of interest to enter into the picture is because we can justify anything. We can put the making of money beyond the feelings and emotional needs of our Fellowship to be involved and feel the weight of responsibility that keeps us spiritually fit as a fellowship. Without this reality, we would weaken into flabby complacency. Our responses would wane into ineffectuality.

The insidious nature of our disease makes us abnormally susceptible to distraction. We can slip out of a prearranged direction of effort into a justified detour with the best of excuses. Diversion from our primary purpose is similar to what we as members go through in our daily fight for recovery. We all know about drifting into concerns, worries and preoccupations that threaten our recovery. This leaves no time for meetings, Twelve Step work or interactive recovery with other addicts. Our desire keeps us focused on recovery.

It is hard to move in two directions at once. A spiritual fellowship sets spiritual goals. If we were to set worldly goals, we would quickly become worldly and the spiritual would seem inconsequential and impractical. Anyone who has been around the Fellowship will sooner or later come up against a situation that throws apparent competence into direct conflict with spiritual reality. We learn to choose the spiritual as the eternal, lasting reality over the transient apparent reality that looks so good to begin with and caves in under pressure.

The insidious nature of our disease makes us very vulnerable to the disasters that can occur when we stray from the Sixth Tradition. We are addicts and therefore suffer from low self-esteem and have fragile egos to being with. Therefore, we are easily corrupted by the temptations of property and prestige and can soon forget about the danger of placing personalities before principles. The insidious disease of addiction allows us to rationalize all sorts of behavior, such as endorsements of outside enterprises. Since some of these enterprises will help us reach the still suffering addict, they are sometimes considered in line with the 12th step of carrying the NA message to the still suffer addict. But this is a trap. If people were rescued by a military group, part of the rescue is letting them return to their homes and not in a prison camp. Doctors can help identify other problems we may have. One doctor has spoken, "Addicts do not necessarily have any other primary illness requiring treatment of any sort." We don't take drugs just because doctors tell us to do so. It is our life at stake and many doctors are not informed about addiction. Be careful! Our inherent self-centeredness can make us easy prey for the notoriety that comes with doing endorsements. This is why the 6th tradition was written and is so very important. It protects us and NA as a whole from ourselves.

After finding recovery and practicing a spiritual way of life, we begin to search out fellow addicts who are like us. It is a sense of trust that is allowed to transform us into productive members of society. The world would be loving and caring if the population was made up solely of recovering addicts. There would be more honesty and compassion in making, but unfortunately, that is not reality. Recovery is about dealing with reality. Many would prey on the spiritual principles that addicts develop after working the Steps. This is not to have a cynical view of humanity, but a simple fact. For instance, people would not remember the positives NA might have had with outside enterprises. These accounts would be insignificant to a non-addict, but a negative account of an affiliation with an outside enterprise would destroy years of the kind of credibility we strive to achieve. Much of society still thinks of addiction as a moral delinquency instead of a moral disease.

The clear, pure message of NA is an anecdote to addiction. The disease tries to dilute this message. When a group endorses another 12 Step fellowship or treatment center, it is giving praise to the disease. It is saying that NA alone cannot work, that we must also go somewhere else. It keeps many addicts from making that final commitment to work the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of NA. This can be deadly to some suffering addicts. NA is the only program of recovery that works for us. If we are curious or have an opportunity, we can take our program with us into any area of life or learning.

The disease of addiction is progressive. As our recovery progresses, so does our dormant disease. When we compromise our Sixth Tradition "one time," we lose our integrity as a Fellowship. When we become involved with selling our name, we must begin to pay the price for selling our souls. We are all capable of living in our active disease. We must not allow money, property or prestige to enable us to take the focus off our primary purpose. Service work is a privilege and an honor. We must not allow ourselves to become involved in service work for profit. It may be more desirable to collect money than to sit up with a newcomer, but when the newcomers are ignored, we die. Nothing is NA except NA. We carry our message, not force our opinion. We surrender to our purpose knowing that we respect our Fellowship and that we respect ourselves. Compromises extract a toll from our lives we might not be willing to pay if we could see how much - and how often - we are charged for little or no gain.

[MajestyJo]

Tradition Six: An AA group out never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

1. Should my fellow gorup members and I go out and raise money to endow several AA beds in our local hospital?
2. Is it good for a group to lease a small building?
3. Are all the officers and members of our local club for AAs familiar with "Guidelines on Clubs" (which is available free from GSO)?
4. Should the secretary of our group serve on the mayor's advisory committee on alcoholism?
5. Some alcoholics will stay aorund AA only if we have a TV and a card room. If this is what is required to carry the message to them, should we have these facilities?

From the AA Grapevine

[MajestyJo]

Tradition Six: An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

Here are some of the things we dreamed. Hospitals didn't like alcoholics, so we thought we'd build a hospital chain of our own. People needed to be told what alcoholism was, so we'd educate the public, even rewrite school and medical textbooks. We'd gather up derelicts from skid rows, sort out those who could get well, and make it possible for the rest to earn their livelihood in a kind of quarantined confinement. Maybe these places would make large sums of money to carry on our other good works. We seriously thought of rewriting the laws of the land, and having it declared that alcoholics are sick people. No more would they be jailed; judges would parole them in our custody. We'd spill AA into the dark regions of dope addiction and criminality. We'd form groups of depressive and paranoid folks; the deeper the neurosis, the better we'd like it. It stood to reason that if alcoholism could be licked, so could any problem.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pages 155-156

What a picture it would be if I endorsed the program and then relapsed. It is best I just stay sober and have people say, "I want what you have," rather than me telling them what I have." What works for some, may not work for others.