Tradition 4 and Rule #62

The 4th Tradition : Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or S-Anon or SA as a whole.

The Fourth Tradition, like all of the others, stems from the original 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are essays on each of the Traditions and Steps in the conference approved AA classic book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: A co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous tells how members recover and how the society functions.

The Traditions were based upon the experience of the early and growing A.A. program. The chapter on the 4th Tradition addresses the issue of group autonomy:

"This meant , of course, that we had been given the courage to declare each A.A. group an individual entity, strictly reliant on its own conscience as a guide to action. In charting this enormous expanse of freedom, we found it necessary to post only two storm signals: A group ought not do anything which would greatly injure A. A. as a whole, nor ought it affiliate itself with anything or anybody else. There would be a real danger should we commence to call some groups "wet," others "dry," still others "Republican" or "Communist," and yet others "Catholic" or "Protestant." The A. A. group would have to stick to its course or be hopelessly lost. Sobriety has to be its sole objective. In all other respects there was perfect freedom of will and action. Every group had the right to be wrong."

The chapter also discusses A.A. Rule #62

An early A.A. group had grand plans to build a hospital and recovery center. They would sober the drunks and help them out of their back debts.
"To insure foolproof, continuous operation, sixty-one rules and regulations were adopted." The venture collapsed and "A chill chokedamp of fear and frustration fell over the group."
"The head promoter wrote the Foundation office. He said he wished he'd paid some attention to A.A. experience. Then he did something else that was to become an A.A. classic. It all went on a little card about golf-score size. The cover read: "Middleton Group #1, Rule #62." Once the card was unfolded, a single pungent sentence leaped to the eye: "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."

How can we apply this Tradition to our S-Anon Couples in Recovery groups? S-Anon Couples in Recovery groups are only affiliated with S-Anon. Many of our members qualify for and are possible members of other 12 step programs. Being a member of a "beverage program", "food program", "shopping program", "wagering program", or "lust program" does not negate or exclude someone from being an S-Anon as well.
Many of our groups meet in churches but that does not mean there is any affiliation. Our groups pay rent for their meeting places. Some of our meetings may take place in Spanish. This does not imply there is an affiliation with Spain. Likewise, English speaking meetings do not mean there is an affiliation with England. Each meetings is autonomous.

How do we apply this Tradition in our coupleships? One couple shared:

We are committed to each other.
We don't have a family religion. Each of us is free to believe in the God of our understanding. We also don't have a family political standing. We tend to vote for candidates that are polar opposites. We don't commit our partners to a contract or course of action without their consultation or approval. We try not to take ourselves "too damn seriously".