THE
BEST OF BILL
ANONYMITY
Continued... (p. 77)
... The old files at AA
headquarters reveal many scores of such experiences with broken anonymity. Most
of them point up the same lessons.
They tell us that we alcoholics are
the biggest rationalizers in the world, that fortified with the excuse we are
doing great things for AA we can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and
disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money ---
the same implacable urges that when frustrated once caused us to drink; the
same forces that are today ripping the globe apart at its seams. Moreover, they
make clear that enough spectacular anonymity breakers could someday carry our
whole Society down into the ruinous dead end with them.
*****
This
anonymity business is serious and it is for my own protection as well as AA’s.
In this chapter Bill writes of his own adventures seeking public
acknowledgement and notoriety for the “good of AA”. He gives examples of others
setting up hospitals, sober boarding houses, promoting AA in newspapers, radio
and so on. In the first twenty years of AA many members also contrived
brilliant schemes for personal financial gain while, of course, in league with and for the good of our Fellowship. Now we have blogs, twitter and facebook where we can skirt this
principal and bring attention to ourselves. It is a touchy subject and one that
is not fully understood in this new age of personal exposure that was once the
sole domain of celebrities. I want badly to extend my experience with recovery
to all I can. It isn’t enough for me to preach to the choir and I know that my
opinions are not always the official line advocated and approved by our General
Services Office in New York
geo 4,710
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