The Third Tradition - WE THINK NOT!

Among my friends I have been known as the guy who can't stand hearing The Promises read at meetings, which anyone who has read my previous post Those Pesky Promises can plainly see. But hopefully what is also apparent is that it's not that I don't like, or disagree with The Promises, in fact just the opposite... I love them. What I don't like is some of the rituals and pomp that surrounds them.

A recent issue of the Grapevine had a Your Turn section on some practices in AA meetings that sometimes make us look like a cult (I realize opinions run to the extremes on this topic so bear with me here.) It's my opinion that one of those those practices is the habit some meetings have of collectively shouting out "WE THINK NOT!" after the rhetorical question "Are these extravagant promises?" is posed at the end of The Promises.

I can tell you that when I first heard that in a meeting I almost jumped out of my chair and ran. I have always had a rebellious streak, and anytime that something has been expected of me (such as group participation or conformity in any way) it has always raised my hackles and sent me in the other direction.

Now I can hear the voices that say that it's reactions like this I need to change in sobriety. But I also know that this is exactly one of those things that makes us look cult-like to anyone who does not "know the drill". Anytime someone walks in to a room full of people who seem to be spontaneously doing the same thing it tends to have a feeling of exclusivity to it. To many people that is off-putting.

Sure, it can be said that some things seem pretty minor to overcome when a newcomer comes in beat by alcohol and is willing to do just about anything to stop. One of those things is the talk of a "Higher Power". Many people worry we will scare newcomers off by talking about God. But as a Higher Power is a base part of our core principles (i.e The Steps), it's likely there will be many discussions about it in AA.

But I am not sure that a newcomer having to decide if he is supposed to shout "WE THINK NOT!" at meetings is the same as thing as him having to decide if there is something more powerful than him, and that It can help him stop drinking.

Since our public relations policies are based on attraction rather than promotion, my question is "Does this make us more or less attractive to someone who is trying to stop drinking and needs our help, but was told to avoid AA because it's a cult?"

So let's assume the new guy is desperate and comes to AA regardless of these warnings. He walks in, sits down and watches us very closely as he tries to figure out what to do. He sees someone up front reading something and suddenly the whole rooms erupts in to "WE THINK NOT!". What conclusion is he likely to draw?

The next question is "How important is it to our future that we continue to reply 'We Think Not' compared with being able to help as many alcoholics as possible?" Mind you, there are a great many things that I think that we should never compromise on because they are integral parts of our principles. I just don't see how this one is. In fact I think it goes against some of them.

Our founders knew a few things about alcoholics. One of them was that we all like to dance to the beat of our own drummer. So much so, Bill felt it was important enough to guarantee this freedom in the 3rd Tradition when he said "Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity."

And so, of course, I take that to heart and don't always conform. When someone ask "Are these extravagant promises?" I do not reply. I don't have to. And when the topic comes up I take it as an opportunity to discuss the Third Tradition and conformity. Knowing that I can not afford to be angry about it, nor do I need to make it in to a divisive issue. But I also don't have to conform to be a member.