Tradition 10 · October 12

A War Machine That Would Never Fight

Daily Traditions · October 12

Before the Tradition

A weapon kept only for protection gets used, so A.A. refused one that would have put it in public lawsuits. After a film studio nearly misused the A.A. name, the board's chairman proposed an act of Congress to protect it. The General Service Conference, the delegates the groups had sent, said no, and Bill W. recorded why (A.A. Comes of Age): "Under enough provocation, we would be bound to start public lawsuits and thus enter the field of public controversy. It would be like building a war machine on the theory that it would always stay home and never fight." A fellowship in court is a fellowship on one side of a public fight, and the papers print the side. The committee's resolution named the cost: A.A. could become tangled in lawsuits without end, and the expense and the publicity could threaten its very existence. So the Conference chose to "rely upon group and public opinion for our ultimate protection." Picture the drinker who reads that A.A. is suing somebody. He does not learn that A.A. is free; he learns that it fights. Today the war machine is a lawyer's letter sent in A.A.'s name. Test it tonight: ask whether anyone near you has threatened legal action for A.A., and who gave them the right.

Sit with

A.A. turned down the power to sue because a fellowship in court has taken a side in public. Has anyone threatened a fight in my group's name?

Grounded in: A.A. Comes of Age (Tradition Ten: the Congressional Charter; the Conference resolution).

Tradition 10

"Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy."

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 10 → Get the app →

← October 11The Other Side of the Same Fight Tradition 10All of October October 13 →Known

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).