Knowledge is a beautiful thing, but the using of knowledge in a
good way is what makes for wisdom. Learning how to use knowledge in a
sacred manner, that's wisdom to me. And to me, that is what a true elder
is. Sun Bear Chippewa This brings us straight to the question, "Does A. A. have a real
leadership? Most emphatically the answer is "Yes, notwithstanding the
apparent lack of it." Let's turn again to the deposed founder and his
friends. What becomes of them? As their grief and anxiety wear away, a
subtle change begins. Ultimately, they divide into two classes known in
A.A. slang as "elder statesmen" and "bleeding deacons." The elder
statesman is the one who sees the wisdom of the group's decision, who
holds no resentment over his reduced status, whose judgment, fortified by
considerable experience, is sound, and who is willing to sit quietly on
the sidelines patiently awaiting developments. The bleeding deacon is one
who is just as surely convinced that the group cannot get along without
him, who constantly connives for reelection to office, and who continues
to be consumed with self-pity. A few hemorrhage so badly that-drained of
all A.A. spirit and principal-they get drunk. At
times the A.A. landscape seems to be littered with bleeding forms. Nearly
every old timer in our Society has gone through this process in some
degree. Happily, most of them survive and live to become elder statesmen.
They become the real and permanent leadership in A.A. Theirs is the quiet
opinion, the sure knowledge and humble example that resolve a crisis. When
sorely perplexed, the group inevitably turns to them for advice. They
become the voice of the group conscience; in fact, these are the true
voice of Alcoholics Anonymous. They do not drive by mandate; they lead by
example. This is the experience which has led us to the conclusion that
our group conscience, well-advised by its elders, will be in the long run
wiser than any single leader. Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions pgs. 134 &
135 Grandfather give us wisdom to serve as elders.
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