The Missing Clause

Tradition 9 is one sentence with two halves, and the second half is the one that does the work (Big Book, p. 562). A.A. ought never be organized — "but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve." Watch what happens when it gets quoted with the last six words trimmed off. You're left with a permission slip: A.A. allows service bodies. True, and gutted. The whole safeguard lived in the part about who they answer to. This is the cheapest capture there is, and it doesn't require dishonesty — just a quotation that stops early, repeated until it sounds complete. There's a second half people drop too. The Big Book says of the Traditions, on page xix, that "none of these principles had the force of rules or laws," which means nobody gets to wield one as a rule against you, including anyone quoting this. A Tradition isn't a weapon handed to whoever memorizes it first. It's a description of what A.A. learned. When someone cites one at you, the honest move is to read the whole thing yourself.