The Principle of Unity in AA

Readings:

• Big Book: page 17
• 12×12: Tradition 1, 4
• Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: page 79, 97-98

In the program of  Alcoholics Anonymous, the first word of the first step is “we” - this might be a clue…

Also, a full one-third of our 3 legacies of service is “unity” - that is probably also a clue as to the importance of this principle.  Is unity simply something we “do”, something we “have” or a “commitment”?

A few years ago, my home group was doing a group inventory and the facilitator, a past delegate for Area 10, stated that, in his opinion, “the fellowship was increasingly acting as if our 1st tradition is at least unimportant, if not irrelevant”.

As I reflected on meetings I’d been attending, I had to agree with him.  If you listened to both what people were sharing as well as the difficulty with which common tasks were being filled (e.g. no one available to open up for a meeting, chair a meeting, take a 12th step commitment, etc.), it was clear that many folks in my AA community were of an opinion that their recovery was important and enough.  There was little or nothing they had to give to the larger purposes of AA - even at the group level.

In the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill W. writes about how we look to those on the outside of AA “…They see liberty verging on license, yet they recognize at once that A.A. hast an irresistible strength of purpose and action. ‘How,’ they ask, ‘can such a crowd of anarchists function at all?  How can they possibly place their common welfare first?  What in Heaven’s name holds them together?’”

The answer, according to Bill, is that “…The AA member has to conform to the principles of recovery.”    We must, simply, because our life depends on it.

Many an AA speaker has drawn on the analogy of a sinking ship and a lifeboat.  Perhaps the perspective that presumes AA is only some suggestions for “self help”  underscores a reality that this analogy is not apt for some.  Perhaps they feel they owe their recovery to a treatment center.  …or perhaps to a church they found in the course of an investigation of the 11th step in their AA path.  Clearly, some of us are in meetings with mixed loyalties.

In the readings from AA Comes of Age, Bill mentions that the 12 Traditions as a whole are the protectors of our 3rd legacy of unity.

As I help other people, I learn about larger perspectives; e.g. unity.

Unity means that when the group conscience makes a decision, I authentically embrace that decision as my own. I don’t get to participate in further retaliation and argument.

Many of us have had the experience of seeing or participating in huge arguments at business meetings, then setting those differences aside and members going to coffee and genuinely enjoying each others’ company.

There are relationships between the principles of unity and anonymity and responsibility.  Also, we need to see that the principles in support of our “singleness of purpose” help to support, encourage and define unity.  This is perhaps where we can relate our principle of unity to our 1st step of recovery.

It’s interesting that, in our early AA history, when the members tried to come up with the minimal qualifications to “belong” to this society, none of those then attending would have been qualified to join.  We needed to become more willing to accept potential members where they were to start out on our path.

Unity ≠ Harmony

It has been our experience that there is a common myth that when we have unity, we will all agree and work in harmony and peace.  Sometimes, in support of unity, we need to take an unpopular stand or stay in an argument until we reach an accommodation or we’re clear that we don’t have anything upon which to base an ongoing relationship.  i.e. - it may better for the “whole” to separate ourselves.  Unity is not the same as complete agreement.

This is related to the 4th tradition - the autonomy granted to each AA group does not afford us the license to do things in a group that harm AA as a whole.

Love and tolerance are guiding principles toward unity.

It is important to observe how unity really works in our fellowship - e.g. something as simple as an AA pot luck is instructive about affording our members an opportunity to participate as well as well as attend and enjoy our functions.

While AA structure is important and can be identified as a result of or reflect our unity, even where AA is not structured and is apparently completely fractious - anarchy as they called it early AA - our principles and common interests can and do still unite us.  This is evident in our early history as folks were trying to “figure out” AA - no one person knew what AA would grow into or what it would look like but, together, they noticed that, slowly, a growing number of drunks got and stayed sober.  That same sort of creation of this thing called AA is happening today all over the world.

AA gives me purpose.  A part of that purpose is in our “belonging” to something.  To be responsible to that purpose and commitment, I need to be careful to not promise more than I’m available to do.  How we show up for our commitments (or not) is often the first training folks get about the principle of unity in our program.

Unity ≠ Perfection

So, at least in AA, our unity is not some sort of nirvana - a state of contemplative bliss where all is sweetness and light.  Instead, it’s the gritty, tough it out family of folks who would not mix appart from their common peril and an agreed upon (?) program of recovery.