Tradition 2 · February 27

We Ought, Not You Must

Daily Traditions · February 27

Before the Tradition

Before there was a Tradition Two, A.A.'s first book had its orders taken out wherever possible, so that nobody in it would stand over the reader. When copies of the manuscript went out for comment in 1939, a psychiatrist in Montclair, New Jersey, Dr. Howard, sent back a criticism: the text was full of you and must. Bill W. remembered (A.A. Comes of Age): "His idea was to remove all forms of coercion". Coercion means forcing someone. Bill argued against it at first, then gave in: "it was perfectly apparent that the doctor was dead right." So the book mostly speaks as we, telling what we did and what we found, and leaves the reader free to take it or leave it. The Traditions grew from the same root. The Long Form gives a group one authority (Big Book, p. 563): "a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience." No member, chairperson or old-timer gets a you-must over anyone. Yet in some rooms today, must is everywhere: you must get a home group, you must do ninety meetings, you must check in every day, or you're out. Those are orders, and the book itself had them edited out. Test it tonight: count how many times you hear "you must" in your meeting, and ask who gave the speaker the authority to say it.

Sit with

A.A.'s book took out the you-musts so nobody would stand over the reader. Who in my room hands out orders that the book itself refused to give?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 2 (Big Book, p. 563); A.A. Comes of Age (Service: the Third Legacy — the mimeograph copies and Dr. Howard).

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 26Righteous Indignation Tradition 2All of February February 28 →Through the Group

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).