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Tradition Six
"An NA group ought never
endorse, finance, or lend the NA name to any related facility or
outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property or prestige
divert us from our primary purpose."
"This tradition is the basis for our policy of
non-affiliation and is extremely important to the continuation
and growth of Narcotics Anonymous." [Narcotics Anonymous Basic
Text, 5th Edition, English, page 66]. While it is important to
reach as many people as possible with our message of recovery,
it is imperative, for our protection, that we not risk our
independence by becoming reliant on any outside source.
Cooperation with those who come in contact with
addicts is important when carrying the message of NA. Without
such cooperation, many of us would never have found the
fellowship. "Contacts between our groups and the public help
others understand NA better. They help increase public goodwill
towards NA. They lead doctors, teachers, police, friends and
relatives to recommend NA to addicts who want recovery." [It
Works How and Why, English, page 168].
Affiliation would have the opposite effect:
diverting us from our primary purpose. We certainly want to work
with other organizations, but we do not want to be merged with
them in the mind of the public. To give the impression that we
are one and the same would threaten our independence. Our aim is
simply to make it known that NA is a resource for other
organizations.
Without the guidance of this Tradition, our PI
subcommittees would be in deep trouble. That fact that so much
could be written about violations of this Tradition provides
ample proof that we endanger NA when we have chosen to ignore
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