An
extract from KEYNOTE ADDRESS -
Unity As Our Safeguard
By G.S.O. (New York)
staff, pp. 8-12
“….We
also have a fellow who wrote a book and founded an organization of
more “fundamentalist” members who insist on using older
literature which is not the current Conference-approved version, and
because they are using the older literature and conducting their
meetings as they believe A.A. was practiced in its early days, they
claim to be the “authentic” Alcoholics Anonymous. These groups
have emerged out of fear the A.A. message is being diluted. The
groups that are formed, based on this fear are rigid – if you don’t
practice A.A. their way you are first off less “sober” than they
are; secondly, they do not allow you to participate in their A.A.
meetings unless you have converted over to their approach and adhere
to their strict guidelines on everything from how to share to what to
wear.
Perhaps
some of you can relate to these situations and know of others which
can be seen as challenges to unity in our Fellowship, not threats but
certain challenges. And how do we meet these challenges? As Bill
said, “My own observation is that time, patience and persuasion
wear down these controversial situations.” Also, ". . .the
course of progress is somewhere down the middle...all of the
influences, good and bad, are needed as spurs to progress..."
Our hope in good outcomes is not misplaced, because we are dealing
with Alcoholics Anonymous, a program of recovery from alcoholism that
is successfully working around the world – all around the world. It
is a program that is inherently self-corrective, and universal: …”
Comment:
Yep. Some of us sure can relate to (and are suffering from) these
situations. Others have committed suicide or stopped going to AA
meetings. A program which is inherently self –corrective and
universal? – Only in so far as AA member narcissistic egos have the
capacity to correct themselves and take responsibility to challenge
those who threaten another’s welfare and our common welfare.
For
the self-serving and incorrect “fellow” (s) who wrote a book
(books actually) contrary to Traditions 1, 2, 4 and 12, and founded
an organization of more “fundamentalist” members , more
accurately described these days as a “destructive cult” or
“totalist system. See AA Minority Report 2013
Having
lost the battle to protect the AA’s Circle and Triangle symbol
against the weight of its unauthorized and illegal misuse by around
170 publishers, novelty manufacturers and treatment centers, (Box
4-5-9 August-September 1993 ‘Letting Go' of the Circle and Triangle
As A Legal Mark pp.
5-6: http://aa.org/lang/en/en_pdfs/en_box459_aug-sept93.pdf
) the challenge now for A.A. is how to motivate a complacent
majority to counter this threat to further erosion of our unity and
identity. We have an example of good service leadership from the
Irish General Service Conference: “Big Book Study Movement is
outside the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous in Ireland” (A
Service Handbook for Ireland p.12
http://www.alcoholicsanonymous.ie/members-of-AA
-
A fine example of Tradition Two, Concepts IX and XII (warranty five)
in action.
Cult
sponsors, their sponsees and complacent or apathetic “trusted
servants” outside Ireland may reflect on what has been lost and
refer to the paradoxes in the (Conference approved) AA Tradition and
Concepts. http://www.aa.org/twelveandtwelve/en_pdfs/en_tradition2.pdf
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/en_bm-31.pdf)
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/en_bm-31.pdf)
Happy,
Joyous and Free reading!
Cheerio,
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
