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Jails, institutions, and death. Anyone in AA or NA will hear this slogan rattled off at nearly every meeting. The three words themselves don't seem to be much of a slogan, but like most slogans, they stand for much more than their literal meaning.
We know that in most stories in the Big Book, there is some element of institutionalization. Whether that was getting locked up for a spell, going to rehab or detox, or hitting up a psych-ward for as long as your insurance will cover it - the addict usually landed in an institution. Truthfully, I have no idea if this is accurate at all. I know in my own tale, I enjoyed several institutionalizations, and not all of them were mandatory or imposed by others.
For those who are keeping score, although NA literature is rife with references to this slogan, as are the meetings, the phrase "Jails, Institutions and Death" does not appear in the Big Book itself, but in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (commonly called the 12&12). This helpful wikist shares:
It's in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions book (the one dictated to Bill Wilson by the manifested spirit of the 16th century monk Boniface ~ or so he claimed).
It's is in the chapter describing Tradition 9 and reads as follows:"Each AA member is to follow the 12 steps to the best of their ability or face jails, institutions or death. Therefore, we are disciplined by the spiritual principals of the steps and a higher power of our own understanding. Just as every AA member takes the steps to the best of their ability, each AA group as a whole must follow the traditions…"
The glaring flaw with this slogan is that it is entirely fear-based. Hang those swords of Damocles just above one's neck, and you ensure that they will lie perfectly still. But that's hardly any way to be 'restored to sanity' - in fact it sounds almost suicidal. Jails, institutions and death are very real consequences, but they are not unavoidable, nor are they inevitable. Internalizing this slogan can be dangerous as well, as if and when one might happen to lapse from total abstinence, this slogan could quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Jails, Institutions, and Death
I give this slogan a rating of M - misleading. The ends of sobriety (or maybe allegiance to AA - an institution all itself) do NOT justify the means of fear, and it may lead you to believe that you are no better than the worst of yours. I had a mentor in the program many years ago who insisted that at any moment we were being motivated by a zero-sum mix of love and fear. Promoting one diminishes the other. "You either come from the Fear side of the street, or the Love side of the street."
Fuck being institutionalized. But also, seriously fuck fear and fuck this misleading slogan.
