Tradition One
"Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon
A.A. Unity."
The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous it the most cherished quality our
Society has. Our live, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon
it. We stay whole, or A.A. dies. Without unity, the heart of A.A. would
cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving
grace of God; His gift to us would be spent aimlessly. Back again in
their caves, alcoholics would reproach us and say, "What a great thing
A.A. might have been!"
"Does this mean," some will anxiously ask, "that in A.A. the individual
doesn't count for much? Is he to be dominated by his group and
swallowed up in it?"
We may certainly answer this question with a loud "No!" We believe
there isn't a fellowship on earth which lavishes more devoted care upon
its individual members; surely there is none which more jealously
guards the individual's right to think, talk, and act as he wishes. No
A.A. can compel another to do anything; nobody can be punished or
expelled. Our Twelve Steps to recovery are suggestions; the Twelve
Traditions which guarantee A.A.'s unity contain not a single "Don't."
They repeatedly say "We ought..." but never "You must!"
To many minds all this liberty for the individual spells sheer anarchy.
Every newcomer, every friend who looks at A.A. for the first time is
greatly puzzled. They see liberty verging on license, yet they
recognize at once that A.A. has an irresistible strength of purpose and
action. "How," they ask, "can such a crowd of anarchists function at
all? How can they possible place their common welfare first? What in
Heaven's name holds them together?"
Those who look closely soon have the key to this strange paradox. The
A.A. member has to conform to the principles of recovery. His life
actually depends upon obedience to spiritual principles. If he deviates
too far, the penalty is sure and swift; he sickens and dies. At first
he goes along because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he
really wants to live. Moreover, he finds he cannot keep this priceless
gift unless he gives it away. Neither he nor anybody else can survive
unless he carries the A.A. message. The moment this Twelfth Step work
forms a group, another discovery is made - that most individuals cannot
recover unless there is a group. Realization dawns that he is but a
small part of a great whole; that no personal sacrifice is too great
for preservation of the Fellowship. He learns that the clamor of
desires and ambitions within him must be silenced whenever these could
damage the group. It becomes plain that the group must survive or the
individual will not.
So at the outset, how best to live and work together as groups became
the prime question. In the world about us we saw personalities
destroying whole peoples. The struggle for wealth, power, and prestige
was tearing humanity apart as never before. If strong people were
stalemated in the search for peace and harmony, what was to become of
our erratic band of alcoholics? As we had once struggled and prayed for
individual recovery, just so earnestly did we commence to quest for the
principles through which A.A. itself might survive. on anvils of
experience, the structure of our Society was hammered out.
Countless times, in as many cities and hamlets, we reenacted the story
of Eddie Rickenbacker and his courageous company when their plane
crashed in the Pacific. Like us, they had suddenly found themselves
saved from death, but still floating upon a perilous sea. How well they
saw that their common welfare came first. None might become selfish of
water or bread. Each needed to consider the others, and in abiding
faith they knew they must find their real strength. And as they did
find, in measure to transcend all the defects of their frail craft,
every test of uncertainty, pain, fear, and despair, and even the death
of one.
Thus has it been with A.A. By faith and by works we have been able to
build upon the lessons of an incredible experience. They live today in
the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, which - God willing -
shall sustain us in unity for so long as He may need us.
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