Tradition Twelve

Short form:

"Twelve—Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities."

Long form:

"12.—And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are 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."

Comment: In our view this is undoubtedly the single most important guideline, a perspective supported by its description as being the "spiritual foundation of all our Traditions", the bedrock upon which the fellowship as a whole rests. The scope of this precept is not limited simply to the notion that we should avoid identifying ourselves (singly and by full name)) as being members of AA in the public domain but rather that this particular instance is merely one relatively minor example of this principle applied in practice. The whole basis of AA rests on the notion of "the group", a collectivity of individuals who together carry the AA message of recovery. Of course some people are better communicators than others, they may have a better grasp of these principles, and moreover embody a broader and deeper range of experience than other members, but ALL AA members have something valuable to contribute in their own unique way and it should not be assumed that any individual message is necessarily of greater value than another's. More important than speech is action after all, and mere eloquence is never an adequate substitute for true endeavour. The member who simply gets on with the business of honest living, and with no accompanying fanfare, may be a more valuable exemplar of recovery than the prolific purveyor of fine words and phrases (and in which latter category of course we might even, with some indulgence, include ourselves!). When the newcomer comes to AA it is to be hoped that he or she is greeted with a breadth of experience, this conveyed by as many members of the group as possible, and that no one individual's interpretation of the programme of action takes automatic predominance over the remainder. For this reason it is desirable that newcomers not only be encouraged to attend one or other meeting but that they be explicitly advised to visit a broad range of meetings as possible to discover what suits them best (whether this choice be good or bad). Finally, of course, the integrity and depth of the message will always win out over the gloss …. which brings us quite naturally to the cult....

In their case it is quite evident that the cult's system of organisation itself is a direct antithesis to the principle outlined above. Remember (and we quote): “It is suggested that you phone your sponsor and do exactly what he tells you. If you don’t have a sponsor try each day to do something about finding one.” Here the entire emphasis is placed upon finding ONE individual and following their direction without question or judgement. The exposition of the entire recovery programme in this case derives from ONE person's experience and is by direct consequence wholly personality driven. It should not be necessary for us to point out the obvious dangers of relying too much upon a single interpretation no matter how insightful this might be (although in the case of cult members this redeeming faculty is almost entirely absent). An essential component of the recovery process for any member (new or not so new) is the development of a capacity to exercise their own judgement, and thereafter make choices for themselves as to what direction they might wish to take with their lives. The only manner in which this ability may be engendered, and then cultivated, is by its exercise, and not by constant reference to - and dependence on - the direction of another. Where advice does need to be elicited consideration should firstly be given as to whether its potential source has any verifiable knowledge and/or experience of the relevant areas. It should be obvious that no single person can possibly be the repository of all such information; to believe otherwise is to assign to them the role of “God” or “Higher Power”, something which is explicitly cautioned against in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous” (Chapter 5, How it Works, p. 60, 4th edn) under the three “pertinent ideas”:

“(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism”

Here (and despite the prudent qualification of “probably”) it is acknowledged that no human power will suffice in such a case. The whole direction of the AA programme is to encourage the individual to place their reliance finally on a “Power greater than themselves” (however this might be conceived). It does NOT propose that this power should be another person, sponsor or otherwise. “Sponsorship idolatry” is the central theme of the cult ideology (if such an encompassing and coherent conception can be applied to their frequently adventitious if not entirely random pronouncements on what does and does not constitute the “programme”). They do in fact “suggest” (cult-speak for “Do as you're told!”) to the newcomer that they place all their reliance upon such a human power, and from which “advice” follow quite necessarily all the inevitable abuses that are so frequently witnessed within the cult groups. Moreover precisely the same dangers inhere within the proliferation of “circuit speakers” now appearing at various venues in Great Britain (and the US) where “personalities” are even being advertised as a “come on” together with all the accompanying paraphernalia of “minor celebrity”: CDs, books, study courses etc etc all with names usefully - and promotionally – appended. These phenomena are not new (witness the outbreaks of Father This, That and The Other back in the 70's and 80's where these members' 'professional spiritual credentials' lent them some supposed “authority”) but with the advent of the internet these sources are becoming ever more intrusive to - and destructive of - our central tenet of “anonymity”. The responsibility for these abuses lie firmly with their advocates and not with the impressionable newcomers who are unfamiliar with the core values of AA. These latter cannot be criticised for being “taken in” by the glib phrases and slick propaganda of the cult, nor for being seduced by the grandiose sloganising promulgated by this perversion of AA (“Never had a bad day”, “Misery is Optional” - tell that to someone who suffers from clinical depression! - etc), nor for the false hopes raised by these charlatans to induce their victims to abide by the “suggestions” laid down by a whole cadre of increasingly narcissistic “sponsors”.

It is unlikely that such dogmatists and fanatics as these will ever revise their own conduct (for that is after all the nature of their “disease”) and therefore the responsibility lies with the rest of us to ensure that this vital tradition is upheld, and that the reputation, and (more importantly) the integrity of our fellowship is defended against the corrosive threat posed by these counterfeiters.

Over to you

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)