Fun Questions
These are a few of the questions that I like to share with others for discussion.
A word of caution: One may think that, for some of these, the answer is obvious or that there is only one answer. That may be so if you're answering them by yourself!
A group discussion may yield a surprising array of answers. . . .I encourage you to engage your group and give it a try!
Part I: Traditions One through Five
1) Why did Bill W. write the Traditions?
2) Who enforces the Traditions?
3) What became the “prime question” for the fellowship according to Tradition One? How does the “prime question” apply to the world-wide A.A. fellowship today?
4) How is the Unity of A.A. demonstrated in action?
5) What are some strategies for setting a tone of inclusion and engagement at the beginning of a group conscience?
6) What can someone do if a member is trying to dominate the discussion in a group conscience?
7) Who determines whether someone has a desire to stop drinking?
8) What Tradition essay refers to Rule 62?
9) What is the purpose of Tradition Four?
10) How can A.A. possibly have unity while groups have autonomy?
11) Bill made the following statement on page 105 in Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, about Tradition Four: “Some may think that we have carried the principle of group autonomy to extremes. … [Autonomy] means that these two or three alcoholics could try for sobriety in any way they liked. They could disagree with any or all of A.A.’s principles and still call themselves an A.A. group.” [Italics mine] Good grief! Had Bill lost his mind?!? What in the world gave him the courage to write that?
12) Does Bill W. use the word “help” in the context of “helping” the alcoholic to achieve sobriety in Tradition Five? Why or why not?
13) Who are alcoholics who still struggle?
14) How can groups carry their message to alcoholics who still struggle?
Part II: Traditions Six through Ten
15) What is the difference between “outside enterprises” and “related facilities?”
16) What are some of the ways in which A.A. might be affiliated with an outside entity?
17) What are some of the ways in which A.A. might be affiliated with a related enterprise?
18) Why did Bill write an entire Tradition (Seven) around money, when he already acknowledged money as a problem in Tradition Six?
19) Why is it important that Alcoholics Anonymous requires no dues or fees for A.A. membership?
20) What does it mean to say that A. A. is not organized? In which Tradition is this discussed?
21) Why is it important to never be paid for Twelfth Step work?
22) How do A.A.s who are paid professionals in alcohol-recovery work avoid being “paid Twelfth Step workers?”
23) How do A.A.s who are paid professionals in alcohol-recovery work avoid affiliating their place of work with A.A.?
24) Why is it important to never pay for Twelfth Step work? In which Tradition is this discussed?
25) What are some examples of A.A.s who are paid to make Twelfth Step work possible?
26) What are the similarities and differences between Tradition Eight and Tradition Nine?
27) What is A.A.’s stance when anyone publicly calls it a religious organization? What Tradition plays a vital role in that stance?
28) What are the dangers of giving another A.A. member medical or psychological advice?
29) Is it ok for an A.A. member to write a letter to a court official about another member’s recovery in A.A.?
30) What are the similarities and differences between Tradition Six and Tradition Ten?
31) Why does Bill write the following about alcoholics? “At this juncture, we can hear a churchman exclaim, “They are making disobedience a virtue!” He is joined by a psychiatrist who says, “Defiant brats! They won’t grow up and conform to social usage!” The man in the street says, “I don’t understand it. They must be nuts!” Why do you think Bill highlighted this in Tradition Nine?
Part III: Traditions Eleven and Twelve
32) “Attraction rather than promotion” is grounded in which Tradition? Why?
33) “Principles before Personalities” is grounded in which Tradition? Why?
34) Why do we have two Traditions on Anonymity? What distinguishes one from the other?
35) In Tradition Twelve, Bill writes, “Moved by the spirit of anonymity, we try to give up our natural desires for personal distinction as A.A. members both among fellow alcoholics and before the general public.” What do you think Bill meant by this statement?
As a friend in Iran says, “All of us say our first name followed by ‘I am an alcoholic.’ We have the same last name, ‘I am an alcoholic.’ Therefore, we are family.”
I wrote On What Slender Threads: A.A.’s Twelve Traditions from a Historical Perspective with the help of my family.