Tradition 10 · October 19

The Flyer

Daily Traditions · October 19

How a group breaks it

The speaker is genuinely good and the invitation was made for the right reason: he has been sober a long time and he tells it well. He is also, this year, standing for something — a local office, a board seat, the leadership of a campaign. Nobody invited him for that. Most of the group barely registers it. But the flyer goes out with his name on it, and in this town that name currently means one thing, and the meeting has become a room where it is being welcomed and applauded. A newcomer arrives on the night. He does not know the man got sober in this hall fifteen years ago. He knows the name from a lawn sign. What he sees is a room full of alcoholics giving a candidate a warm reception, and whatever he takes from that, he takes on his first night, before anyone has said a word to him. The group's intention was never in the room with him. The A.A. Preamble says the fellowship "is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution." Nobody in that hall allied with anything. The flyer did.

Sit with

Nobody endorsed anyone — the flyer and the applause did it, and the newcomer read the room rather than the intention. What have I appeared to back simply through who I stood beside?

Grounded in: The A.A. Preamble (P-17); long form, Tradition 10.

Tradition 10

"Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 10 → Get the app →

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Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).