The Traditions Are Requests, Not Rules - AA Speaker - Brian H.

Brian put his strong opinions about local AA on his own website, then took it down and made amends. His approach to the Twelve Traditions asks what he's willing to give up for the fellowship that helped him rebuild his life.

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Brian got sober on February 24, 1988, and admits that he initially had little interest in the Twelve Traditions. AA seemed ideal for a defiant alcoholic: no rules and nobody with the power to enforce them. As recovery gave him a life he valued, he began asking what he could do to preserve the fellowship for the next alcoholic. In this AA Traditions talk, he presents all twelve as requests for willing sacrifice rather than commands to police other members. He uses the same rhythm his sponsor taught him for the Steps: problem, solution, action, and result. Unity is the challenge, a loving God expressed through group conscience is the solution, and the remaining Traditions ask members to set aside desires that could pull a group apart. Brian explores membership, singleness of purpose, group autonomy, self-support, service, outside issues, and anonymity through his own experiences and interpretations. His clearest personal example is a website he created to promote groups he admired and criticize what he saw as watered-down AA. Although others defended his right to publish it, he came to believe it could imply he spoke for those groups, took it down, and gave the domain to Intergroup as an amends. He also recalls a proposal to remove a group from the meeting list and explains why he favored conversation over trying to compel compliance. Self-support, for Brian, includes showing up for service as well as contributing money when able; he jokes that members should be competing to take jail meetings rather than leaving commitments uncovered. Throughout, he invites disagreement and acknowledges that he is offering his understanding of the Traditions. He closes by co