Tradition 2 · February 26

Righteous Indignation

Daily Traditions · February 26

The threat

The most dangerous grab for power in a group comes from the member who is sure he's right. Bill W. named the forces the Traditions hold back (A.A. Comes of Age): "These were the desires for power, for domination, for glory, and for money. They were all the more dangerous because they were invariably powered by self-righteousness, self-justification, and the destructive power of anger, usually masquerading as righteous indignation." Masquerading means wearing a disguise. Righteous indignation is anger that feels holy. Nobody takes over a group by saying they want control. They say the group is going wrong and somebody has to fix it. Then they fix it themselves: change the format without a vote, swap the readings, decide who is really A.A. and who isn't. Every step feels like protecting the program. The Long Form shuts that door by naming the only authority there is (Big Book, p. 563): "a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience." That leaves no room for one member's certainty, however sincere. A member who is right can bring it to the business meeting and persuade the others. A member who won't wait for the vote has stopped serving the group and started ruling it. Test it tonight: the next time someone says the group has to be saved from itself, ask them to put it to a vote.

Sit with

The urge to run a group usually arrives dressed as saving it. Who in my room is fixing the group without asking the group?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 2 (Big Book, p. 563); A.A. Comes of Age (Unity: the Second Legacy).

Tradition 2

"For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern."

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 2 → Get the app →

← February 25Nothing Can Compel a Group Tradition 2All of February February 27 →We Ought, Not You Must

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).