Question
1:
“Review
the draft Structure Handbook.
Background
Draft Structure Handbook
Consider the contribution to the carrying of the message, financial and practical implications when deliberating each question.
Draft Structure Handbook can be found here in the document library:
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/members/index.cfm?PageID=98&&DocumentTypeID=8259
Background
Draft Structure Handbook
Consider the contribution to the carrying of the message, financial and practical implications when deliberating each question.
Draft Structure Handbook can be found here in the document library:
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/members/index.cfm?PageID=98&&DocumentTypeID=8259
See
also:
Extract:
“Draft
Structure Handbook, page 70
There is evidence the term "Steering committee" can be misinterpreted, leading to disputes due to overweening personal power and authority; in other words, dictatorships whose decisions exclude participation of the whole group membership or the AA group conscience as a whole. As Bill W. pointed out in the April 1947 AA Grapevine:
“Growth brought headaches; growing pains, we call them now. How serious they seemed then! “ Dictators” ran amok; drunks fell on the floor or disturbed the meetings; “steering committees” tried to nominate their friends to succeed them and found to their dismay that even sober drunks could not be steered.” (AA Grapevine April 1947; The Language of the Heart pages 47-48)
The word "steering" implies possessing power to control or change the direction of something and can evidently be rationalized into meaning one possesses the power to direct or govern. Committees do have the power to govern, by withholding information from the group conscience, or by making hasty decisions without full participation of all the group members. Perhaps mindful of this when Bill W. wrote the Traditions, he did not use the term "steering committee" in Tradition 9/ Tradition 9 (Long form), instead he referred to: "Service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve", "rotating committee", "Intergroup association", "central or intergroup committee."
"Service" is a word plain in meaning. Therefore I suggest "Steering Committee" is changed to "Service committee" and "Steering Committee Officers" is changed to "Service Committee members". At present the 2nd and 4th Paragraphs, page 70, read as follows:
2nd paragraph:
There is evidence the term "Steering committee" can be misinterpreted, leading to disputes due to overweening personal power and authority; in other words, dictatorships whose decisions exclude participation of the whole group membership or the AA group conscience as a whole. As Bill W. pointed out in the April 1947 AA Grapevine:
“Growth brought headaches; growing pains, we call them now. How serious they seemed then! “ Dictators” ran amok; drunks fell on the floor or disturbed the meetings; “steering committees” tried to nominate their friends to succeed them and found to their dismay that even sober drunks could not be steered.” (AA Grapevine April 1947; The Language of the Heart pages 47-48)
The word "steering" implies possessing power to control or change the direction of something and can evidently be rationalized into meaning one possesses the power to direct or govern. Committees do have the power to govern, by withholding information from the group conscience, or by making hasty decisions without full participation of all the group members. Perhaps mindful of this when Bill W. wrote the Traditions, he did not use the term "steering committee" in Tradition 9/ Tradition 9 (Long form), instead he referred to: "Service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve", "rotating committee", "Intergroup association", "central or intergroup committee."
"Service" is a word plain in meaning. Therefore I suggest "Steering Committee" is changed to "Service committee" and "Steering Committee Officers" is changed to "Service Committee members". At present the 2nd and 4th Paragraphs, page 70, read as follows:
2nd paragraph:
"The
meetings that constitute the multi-meeting Group are assisted in
fulfilling the needs of the Group by a Steering Committee comprising
Group Officers and representatives from the meetings belonging to the
Group. These Steering Committee Officers - Chair, Treasurer,
Literature Sec. etc. as set out in 1.2 Group Officers below - are
elected from members of the Group’s meetings at a Group Conscience
meeting attended by members or representatives of all the meetings in
the Group."
4th paragraph:
4th paragraph:
"It
has been found that there is Unity in multi-meeting Groups providing
that the application of the principle of rotation of
steering-committee officers is observed in order to avoid
personalities becoming established at the expense of the Groups’
welfare: also, that regular Conscience and Business Meetings are
held." “
(our
emphases)
Cheerio
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
