Co-founder
Bill W liked to call A.A. a
"benign anarchy," and for
good reason. A.A. is a spiritual
movement, and as Tradition Two
clearly states, our sole authority
"is a loving God as He may
express Himself in the group
conscience."
But
what exactly is the group
conscience? How does it differ from
a group opinion or a majority vote?
And what is the best way to get
there?
It
is generally agreed that the group
conscience strives for unanimity
through enlightenment, spirituality
and adherence to our Steps,
Traditions and Concepts. On
sensitive issues, the group works
slowly - discouraging formal
motions until a clear sense of its
collective view emerges. Placing
principles before personalities,
the group is wary of dominant
opinions. Its voice is heard when a
well-informed group arrives at a
decision. The result rests on more
than a "yes" or
"no" count - precisely
because it is the spiritual
expression of the group conscience.
The
late Dean K., who served a term as
delegate,
California/Northern Interior, and
then managed the
Seattle Central Office for a time,
said that there are two ways to
arrive at a group conscience:
"The competitive way permits
the person with the loudest voice
to push his idea across, take a
vote and come up with a majority
decision. This is not informed
group conscience. In the
cooperative way, group members come
together in mutual trust to arrive
at a group decision, not one
individual's personal triumph .
Dean's
formula for a cooperative and
informed group conscience calls for
facts (or presentations) on both
sides of a question. "The
meeting is not thrown open for
general discussion," he
stressed. "This would allow
the more vocal members to set the
debate. It is suggested that the
chairperson call on each member in
turn, allowing two minutes for each
to speak. No member should speak a
second time until all have had
their turns; this gives even the
quietest person an equal chance.
The chairperson expresses his or
her opinions only after all the
others have spoken."
"It
is important," Dean noted,
"that the minority voice
always be heard; but it should be
born in mind that while the
minority voice sometime is right,
it is just as often wrong. Unless
the minority voice is decidedly
persuasive, it should be considered
in its proper light - as a minority
voice. To permit the minority
always to influence the majority is
to permit the tail to wag the
dog."
Beyond the group level,
the A.A. General Service
Conference has the responsibility
of acting as the collective group
conscience of the Fellowship. About
the closest thing to a collective
voice that A.A. has, the Conference
produces statements on important
matters of policy that affect A.A.
as a whole; approves the choice of
some trustee nominees for the
General Service Board and directly
elects others. But neither the
Conference nor the board can
dictate to any A.A. group or
member.
Not always understood,
group conscience as expressed in
Tradition Two is a powerful
spiritual concept that makes it
possible for people of diverse
backgrounds and temperament to rise
above personal ambition and unite
in our common purpose: to stay
sober and extend the hand of A.A.
to the alcoholic who still suffers.
Has
your group had an experience with
group conscience that you would
like to share? G.S.O. welcomes your
input.
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