'Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.'
- Attraction rather than promotion
- This embodies the notion from the Big Book of an alcoholic seeing what we have and replicating what we did.
- If a person has the desire to get well, that is sufficient, so no promotion is necessary.
- This minimises pressure on the individual and means that the individual must overcome internal blocks, rather than yielding to the pressure and suppressing those blocks.
- Promotion involves making claims or promises.
- Sensational or extravagant claims and promises at the public level open us up to investigation, challenge, cross-examination, loss of faith, and ridicule.
- Promotion also involves juxtaposition in relation to other organisations or approaches.
- Attraction requires visibility, which justifies the ongoing performance of public information work including advertising.
- Advertising is fine, if it is merely to attract people to AA by presenting what AA is and stops short of promotion (see above).
- Public-level anonymity
- If someone publicly announces their AA membership, anything they say or do, including relapse or other unseemly behaviour, could reflect on AA.
- Spotlights fuel egos, and egos are bad for alcoholics.
- Public sobriety creates unnecessary pressure to maintain that sobriety, which could be counterproductive.
- Public announcement of AA membership could enable the individual in question to use their AA membership to gain power, influence, or standing for some other purpose.
- Maintaining anonymity below that level represents excessive zealotry: if we are anonymous at community level without good reason, God cannot work through us to attract people to AA, and this directly affects whether others can get sober and well.
Inventory:
Looking at the above ideas:
Where am I currently falling down?
What can I do differently?