God, I'm Thinking Too Much Again

I was driving to the meeting this morning, facing another possible confrontational experience with Political Cap Lady, mulling over a couple of our Traditions, all of which were born out of much pain and conflict and ill will among members chaos that at one time threatened to destroy The Fellowship.  I like the warning that often people with a lot of sobriety fall roughly into these two camps: Bleeding Deacon and Elder Statesman.  Because I've been sober a long time and I'm very regular at A.A. meetings - including lots of literature meetings where we read our books carefully - I realize I have some responsibility to stand up for what I see as "good A.A."  And because I'm totally self-righteous and self-assured and extremely Type A confident I plow forward with certainty that my own personal rectitude should be the standard that everyone else needs to live up to.  I think I've been whipsawing between these two extremes.  Should I speak up, share my own experience, strength, and hope, humbly aware that I'm not a total idiot when it comes to recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous?  Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill?  Especially since I HATE the political figure this cap is promoting.  Am I letting this color my opinion?  Would I take the same firm stand if it was someone wearing clothing promoting my side of the political spectrum?  I flatter myself that I would.  I flatter myself all of the time about everything, though, so my spidey-sense tingles when I get too smug about what's going on in my head.

Here are the facts:

1.  I talked to a lot of people with a lot of sobriety, including a few from a meeting that attracts a lot of guys who don't agree with me politically.  Almost to a person they were firm in their belief that this is not acceptable behavior.   One guy didn't think he would say anything but no one defended her behavior.

2.  I wrote to New York and - God bless 'em - they were vague and hands-off-ey as ever.  They wanted to know if it was the particular type of cap she was wearing?  Did we object to all caps?  Was the woman promoting herself as a spokesperson for A.A. as a whole or our meeting in particular?  I mean the college I went to has a fiercesome rivalry with another school.  Could I object to a meeting where everyone was wearing caps from a hated sports rival?  Some of this stuff is silly and some of it is ridiculous but it makes one think.

3.  I talked to a couple of newcomers who were oblivious to any controversy.  Part of me understands that most newcomers are oblivious to everything but also believes that just because you aren't hip to The Traditions yet doesn't mean all behavior can be tolerated.  But I get it - when I was new I was just trying not to drink one day at a time.  Violations of our Traditions were things best left to Bleeding Deacons like myself.t 

Isn't this part and parcel of A.A.?  Isn't this tendency to chaos and disorder typical of us?  Don't we make mountains out of molehills while ignoring the large anvil that is teetering just above our heads?  I think there's a passage in some religious book about pointing out the spec in someone's eye while ignoring the two by four in our own.  Locating the defects of others is our specialty.  Deconstructing our own is a task we often avoid.  "Children of Chaos" our book screams at one point.  Defiant brats, rebellious and resistant to messages we don't want to hear.  Self-centered to the extreme and immature.  That's us and that's the book talking, not me.