Tradition 3 · March 1

One Alcoholic Judging Another

Daily Traditions · March 1

The threat

Tradition 3 grew out of a 1946 essay by Bill W. about A.A. groups deciding which drunks deserved a seat. He looked back at the membership rules the groups had made and at who they would have caught (A.A. pamphlet P-17, p. 11): "Most of the early members of A.A. would have been thrown out because they slipped too much, because their morals were too bad, because they had mental as well as alcoholic difficulties. Or, believe it or not, because they did not come from the so-called better classes of society." Then his verdict (p. 12): "Imagine, if you can, one alcoholic judging another!" That is the danger this month's Tradition answers. Not the drunk who walks in, but the sober ones deciding who counts. The Long Form shuts the question down (Big Book, p. 563): "Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover." Refuse none: not the one who slipped last week, not the one with a record, not the one with no money and nowhere to sleep. Today the judging comes dressed as policy: a room that only seats people who are enrolled, insured or referred. Test it tonight: count every rule, written or not, a newcomer has to get past to sit down in your room.

Sit with

The early rules would have thrown out the very people who built A.A., so the Long Form says refuse none. Who would my group's unwritten rules keep out?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 3 (Big Book, p. 563); P-17, pp. 11–12 (Bill W., "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?", 1946).

Tradition 3

"The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."

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 3 → Get the app →

←All of March Tradition 3All of March March 2 →Limited to Alcoholics

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).