Tradition 11 · November 17

At All Hazards

Daily Traditions · November 17

Before the Tradition

In 1938 Frank Amos travelled to Akron for John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to find out whether this thing was worth money. His reports are the earliest written record of what A.A.'s founders were afraid of, and the fear is not the one you would guess. They were not afraid of being ignored. They told him (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers) "early publicity would be ruinous—because it would result in the few present workers' being swamped with requests from relatives and friends and from alcoholics themselves. As a consequence, the whole movement probably would bog down." Ruinous. Around forty people were sober across two cities, and the thing that frightened them was too many people wanting in. Amos recorded the other conviction the same year, and it is the sentence that has held for nearly ninety: "commercialization of this movement must at all hazards be avoided." At all hazards. Not where convenient, not where affordable. Both of those were written down eight years before there were any Traditions, and both survived into the wording of this one.

Sit with

With forty people sober in two cities, what the founders feared most was too many people wanting in. What am I guarding so carefully that I have stopped asking whether anyone can reach it?

Grounded in: Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (Frank Amos's 1938 reports to Rockefeller).

Tradition 11

"Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films."

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 11 → Get the app →

← November 16On Celluloid Tradition 11All of November November 18 →It Was Tottering and It Had to Fall

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).