AN UNBROKEN TRADITION
We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far
greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177
How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a
thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob. How much more grounded I feel to be in
a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging. I am grateful that the energies of
A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual
sobriety. My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.’s
purpose — so clearly stated fifty years ago — is for me to keep sober. That purpose has
promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of intergroup and central
service offices, with their thousands of volunteers. Like the sun focused through a
magnifying glass, A.A.’s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts,
including mine.