Tradition One (long form): “Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole.  A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare must come first. But individual welfare follows close afterward.”
We are then given eleven other Traditions that show us what we must do in order to accomplish the goal of unity that allows recovery.

PRIMARY PURPOSE

Tradition Five (long form): “Each Alcoholics Anonymous group ought to be a spiritual entity having but one primary purpose—that of carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”
From the AA Preamble (Grapevine): “Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.”

SINGLENESS OF PURPOSE

Bill Wilson, AA Comes of Age, page 232: OUR SINGLE PURPOSE:
“There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well prove to be a heady drink for most of us – that is, if we really came to believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to behave accordingly. Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose: the carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody.”

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF AN A.A. GROUP

Letter from Bill Wilson dated 1966 and quoted in “As Bill Sees It”, page 79
“An AA group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone those of nonalcoholics in the world around us. The AA group is not, for example, a mediator of domestic relations, nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone. Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his friends in AA, the primary responsibility for the solutions of all his problems of living and growing rests squarely upon the individual himself. Should the AA group attempt this sort of help, its effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissipated. This is why sobriety—freedom from alcohol—through the teaching and practice of AA’s 12 Steps, is the sole purpose of the group. If we don’t stick to this cardinal principle, we shall almost certainly collapse. And if we collapse we cannot help anyone.”

Tradition Ten: “Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.”  Long form: “No A.A. group or member should ever, in such a way as to implicate A.A., express any opinion on outside controversial issues-particularly those of politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion. The Alcoholics Anonymous groups oppose no one. Concerning such matters they can express no views whatever.”

Our instructions are to keep our opinions (as AA members) out of “outside issues” AND to keep “outside issues” out of our meetings.

• Personal opinions as a result of critical thinking are good, but not if we try to pass them off as A.A. opinions… so it is suggested that we make clear when something is our own opinion.
  
• Outside agencies have their own views on alcoholism AND A.A. So we avoid spreading opinions: ours, our sponsor’s, our doctor’s, our therapist’s, the judge’s (even if he is your sponsor), your 3-year clean addiction counselor, a dry-drunk oldtimer, or any other guru you hold on a pedestal, etc. AA meetings are the place to spread THE AA message—to teach and practice our Recovery Program: The 12 Steps.

From the Grapevine, May 1994: Our singleness of purpose has really been put to the test with the growth of treatment facilities which lump all addictive disorders together, with the subsequent visits of large numbers of treatment graduates to our groups, and with the mandatory sentencing of drunk driving offenders to AA meetings. Meanwhile, our own AA members aren’t always aware of our Traditions . . . A group conscience will get exactly what it demands, no more or no less. Our experience today still bears out the experience of our founders. Some groups, where the alcoholics became outnumbered and the primary purpose was lost in problems other than alcohol, have had to close their doors. . . In AA Comes of Age, we find this powerful statement: “We think we should do one thing well rather than many things to which we are not called. Our society gathers in unity around this concept. The very life of our fellowship requires its preservation. Together we have found a substantial remedy for a terrible malady. As a fellowship we know we must not be diverted. It is our experience as alcoholics that makes us of unique value on our sector of the total alcoholic front. We can approach sufferers as no one else can. Therefore, the strongest kind of moral and ethical compulsion is upon us to do this and nothing more. We shall direct our energies where they count most. Most emphatically, then, AA has but one single purpose: To carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. This is our basic objective, our real reason for existence.” It’s our only reason for existence.
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If your group pulls in a lot of “I just need my slip signed, I’m fine & can control MY drinking—but let me teach all of you how to stay sober my D&A counselor’s way” visitors—you might consider suggesting in your group-conscious format that they are welcome to sit in and LISTEN. If you call on them and they spew their nonsense, it is accepting outside issues into your meeting and that is confusing for the newcomer who NEEDS TO HEAR THE ACTUAL A.A. MESSAGE!  Remember “It’s in the book.”

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ETC, a recovered alcoholic in Oregon—relieved of the obsession but not cured of the allergy.