Al Anon’s Tradition 11

Al-Anon’s 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. Al-Anon Addition: We need guard with special care the anonymity of all A.A. members.

(Photo by Sem Rox.)

Tradition 11 “defines our public relations policy” according to Paths to Recovery (p.227 of the 1997 edition). The anonymity part is the key to this tradition. It places principals above personalities and makes it seem more human, as opposed to commercial.

I think of this tradition as being linked to Al Anon’s Step 12-  Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. We cannot tell other people what to do, nor can we make them come to the program. Also in Paths to Recovery, there is a little story about how you can lead a chain but not push it (p.230 of the 1997 edition). We can attract people to Al Anon by living the principals to the best of our ability and allow them to see the benefits in us. Soon, they may want what we have – serenity.

At one of the new meetings I’ve been attending they read the page on the tradition of the month out of The Al Anon pamphlet The Twelve Steps and Traditions at the beginning of each meeting. I never paid much attention to the part of Tradition 11 that says, “We need guard with special care the anonymity of all A.A. members.” I just assumed that I should not identify anyone I saw in any 12 step program, ever, But, recently I was struck by a passage in the Twelve Steps pamphlet that mentions, “When alcoholics are still drinking they have no anonymity; their own conduct exposes the fact of their alcoholism.” P.22 When I first heard that read I thought “Wait – that is a little bit harsh.”  Here I am thinking that tradition applies to every alcoholic.

I see the passage in Twelve Steps as a form of detachment. When the alcoholic is drinking, we often try to cover for them. But, we must allow them to face the consequences of their own actions. If the alcoholics are working to stay sober and clean up their past we have no business holding them responsible for it and we need not mention their A.A. membership. Really, there is no reason to mention another person’s alcoholism at any point – drunk or sober. Their behavior is what it is and we can’t change that. But we can allow them to be who they are at that point and to experience the good and bad of their decisions.