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Tradition Eleven
"Our public relations
policy is based on attraction rather than on promotion; we need
always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio
and films."
"The Eleventh Tradition is the cornerstone of
NA's public relations policy." [It Works How and Why, English,
page 203]. There are two distinct parts to this tradition and
both address PI efforts directly.
First, our public relations policy is based on
attraction rather than promotion: in our Fifth Tradition we are
told what the message is that we have to share with the world
outside NA. "Our attraction is that we are successes in our own
right. As groups gathered together we offer recovery. We have
found the success of our program speaks for itself". [Narcotics
Anonymous Basic Text, 5th Edition, English, page 72]. We
certainly don’t make promises such as, "You will never use drugs
again if you join us." That most definitely is promotion!
This tradition tells us we do have a public
relations policy. "The existence of a public relation "policy"
implies the importance of a public relations "program" in
carrying out our fellowship's primary purpose. Public
information work, done properly, is not promotion, rather, it
seeks to make NA attractive to those who might need us." [It
Works How and Why, English, page 203].
Our public relations policy is based on our
individual recoveries and on the success of our program. That
makes our job in PI simple. We simply share our experiences of
recovery (while protecting our anonymity) and tell the story of
NA. In order to effectively tell the NA story (most of us are
familiar enough with our own stories), we need to know it.
Please see the Resources section for a listing of of bulletins
and abstracts created for this purpose. Each PI subcommittee
might also want to write up a brief history of NA in their area
or region.
Personal anonymity at the level of press, radio
and films enables each of us to do this service work without
endangering our recovery. There is simply never a situation that
warrants violation of this Tradition NO MATTER WHAT. Anonymity
is defined in the dictionary as "the quality or state of being
anonymous." Anonymous is defined as "having or giving no name."
In our dealings with outside agencies, other than press, radio
or films, some PI workers use their own names since,
technically, doing so would not be a violation of this
Tradition.
The safest way to avoid problems with this
Tradition is to understand it, accept it, and always do direct
PI interviews and presentations with another NA member present. |
