Page 7 - The Twelve Concepts for World Service
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                  background for this Concept, you should be
              A familiar with the Conference Charter and the
              Bylaws of the General Service Board, both of which
              are found in The A.A. Service Manual. For, except for
              the specific directions in these documents, every
              trusted servant and every A.A. entity — at all levels of
              service — has the right “to decide . . . how they will
              interpret and apply their own authority and respon-
              sibility to each particular problem or situation as it
              arises.” That is, they can “decide which problems they
              will dispose of themselves and upon which matters
              they will report, consult, or ask specific directions.”
              This is “the essence of ‘The Right of Decision.’”
                 But this right also means the Fellowship must have
              trust in its “trusted servants.” If the groups instruct
              their G.S.R.s rather than giving them a “Right of
              Decision,” then the area conference is hamstrung.
              If the G.S.R.s instruct the area delegates rather than
              giving them a “Right of Decision,” then the General
              Service Conference is hamstrung. As Bill points out,
              “our Conference delegates are primarily the servants
              of A.A. as they should . . . cast their votes . . . according
              to the best dictates of their own judgment and
              conscience at that time.”






                                                                         Similarly, if the General Service Board, acting
                                                                       through its subsidiary boards, “were to attempt to
                                                                       manage” the General Service Office and the A.A.
                                                                       Grapevine “in detail, then . . . the staff members . . .
                                                                       would quickly become demoralized; they would be
                                                                       turned into buck-passers and rubber stamps; their
                                                                       choice would be to rebel and resign, or to submit
                                                                       and rot.”
                                                                         Bill warns against using “The Right of Decision”
                                                                       as an excuse for failure to make the proper reports of
                                                                       actions taken; or for exceeding a clearly defined
                                                                       authority; or for failing to consult the proper people
                                                                       before making an important decision. But he
                                                                       concludes:
                                                                         “Our entire A.A. program rests squarely upon
                                                                         the principle of mutual trust. We trust God, we
                                                                         trust A.A., and we trust each other.”
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