This is very interesting.
What a group says it is and how a group actually behaves can be two different things.
Part of the anonymity of AA is the watchword which is read at the beginning
of every meeting and abided by:
"We believe in principles before personalities." (Tradition 12)
[www.aa.org]
The 12 Traditions of AA are not as well known as the 12 Steps.
Short form
[www.aa.org]
Long form
[www.google.com]
The most detailed commentary is in the book 12 Steps and 12 Traditions (aka
The 12 by 12 available here in PDF.
[www.portlandeyeopener.com]
The short form of the 12 Traditions is read at every meeting during the 7th tradition collection.
"Our leaders are but trusted servants - they do not govern."
Ideally, anyone interested in getting involved with AA should be given a fly over of the 12 Traditions as soon as possible, so that they will have a way to tell which
are genuine AA meetings and which ones are in danger of being taken over by a domineering charismatic leader - or already have been.
The 12 Traditions of AA were created to assist people to see the difference
between a personality cult calling itself an AA meeting, and an AA meeting whose primary purpose is *actually* offer fellowship and tools for people who want to stop drinking, rather than a meeting whose actual purpose is ego aggrandizement of a domineering leader and his or her favorites.
Here is a quotation from the 12 by 12. Go to pages 186 - 187. When AA became nationally famous after an article was published in Saturday Evening Post, this brought
massive publicity and the risk that "self appointed AA members represent themselves as messiahs....the promoter instinct in us might be our undoing."
What a group says it is and how a group actually behaves can be two different things.
Part of the anonymity of AA is the watchword which is read at the beginning
of every meeting and abided by:
"We believe in principles before personalities." (Tradition 12)
[www.aa.org]
The 12 Traditions of AA are not as well known as the 12 Steps.
Short form
[www.aa.org]
Long form
[www.google.com]
The most detailed commentary is in the book 12 Steps and 12 Traditions (aka
The 12 by 12 available here in PDF.
[www.portlandeyeopener.com]
The short form of the 12 Traditions is read at every meeting during the 7th tradition collection.
"Our leaders are but trusted servants - they do not govern."
Ideally, anyone interested in getting involved with AA should be given a fly over of the 12 Traditions as soon as possible, so that they will have a way to tell which
are genuine AA meetings and which ones are in danger of being taken over by a domineering charismatic leader - or already have been.
The 12 Traditions of AA were created to assist people to see the difference
between a personality cult calling itself an AA meeting, and an AA meeting whose primary purpose is *actually* offer fellowship and tools for people who want to stop drinking, rather than a meeting whose actual purpose is ego aggrandizement of a domineering leader and his or her favorites.
Here is a quotation from the 12 by 12. Go to pages 186 - 187. When AA became nationally famous after an article was published in Saturday Evening Post, this brought
massive publicity and the risk that "self appointed AA members represent themselves as messiahs....the promoter instinct in us might be our undoing."
Quote
https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/en_tradition12.pdf