Tradition Three
by Judy F.
The Only Requirement for A.A. Membership Is a Desire to Stop Drinking
The Traditions of A.A. were first introduced by the founder Bill W., who wrote a series of essays for the Grapevine in April 1946. They were titled “Twelve Points to Assure Our Future” and formally adopted at A.A.’s first international convention in 1950. Wilson’s book on the subject, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, was published in April 1953.
Can you imagine, 10 years the fellowship floundered with membership issues, financial issues, service issues and leadership issues until Bill offered up the twelve traditions that laid the foundation to handle all of these and more.
The simplicity of the third tradition allows me to determine if I want to be a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I don’t have to fill out any kind of membership form or go before any kind of board to be voted in. I can just go to a meeting and say I have a desire to stop drinking, and hallelujah, I just joined A.A.
My interest in Tradition Three came about from an article I found in my research of the “first women in A.A.” Sybil C., who got sober in 1941 when there were no traditions. Sybil stated that “it was at that time, 1941 when A.A. was in mortal danger of destroying itself, which is why we have traditions now.” It was in this article that Sybil told the story of Irma L., a woman who got sober shortly after Sybil. Sybil not only became her sponsor but took her into her home because she had no home, no job, no car, nothing. “She watched A.A. help Irma get sober, get cleaned up, find her first job, and helped her get her first apartment in sobriety.” After all of this, a self-appointed group of members sent Irma a letter stating that it had been decided that her attendance at group meetings was no longer desired and that “this action has been taken for reasons which should be most apparent to yourself.” They gave her an opportunity to appear before the committee to appeal their decision. “If you do not wish to appear, the committee will consider the matter closed and her membership terminated.” In this article, Sybil stated that Irma never came back to another meeting and died of alcoholism.
How many of us have, at one time or another, stood as the judge and jury of an individual’s desire to get sober? Have you gossiped with friends about whether someone was going to make it or not?
One simple paragraph in the Third Tradition of the Twelve and Twelve (pg 141);
“The answer, now seen in Tradition Three, was simplicity itself. At last, the experience taught us that to take away any alcoholic’s full chance was sometimes to pronounce his death sentence and often to condemn him to endless misery. Who dared to be judge, jury, and executioner of his own sick brother.”