Speaking to an American friend, I wasn’t aware that community sport is pretty much non-existent in any…

Speaking to an American friend, I wasn’t aware that community sport is pretty much non-existent in any widespread way, in the US. Most sport there is organised through schools. And there’s something really important here that it made me see very clearly. /1 https://t.co/4FjseZ6dd5

The US is obviously highly shaped by a libertarian belief system. Widespread antagonism to any notion of the public and to institutional support for social life. But you still have to implement your belief system, and I think it’s on sporting fields that key answers lie. /2

It struck me again reading Damien Cave’s experience moving his family to Australia. What he found, which we take for granted, was to him almost unique in the world. A ‘a way of co-existing with nature and all its chaos, danger and unpredictability.’ /3 https://t.co/YBhHFg6aP8

And he saw that via community sport. “You had all these parents taking care of all these children — not just their own kids — and you had all these kids who were expected to move in these risky situations together.” No child was allowed to give up, but no child judged either. /4

‘Collective coaxing’, as he called it. Now living here, this is exactly the experience of community sport, every week. People from all backgrounds mixing, collectively coaxing others to take on challenges and risks. I now think this is where Australian democracy is made. /5

It’s a truism that Australians love sport. But the social and cultural importance of community sport is much more than about throwing balls around. It’s the logistical training ground for Australian democracy, where we lean to live as a community. /6

I hadn’t realised that community sport is not as common internationally. It may be declining in Australia too, so we may be on the pathway to idiot libertarianism too. /end