Last month I asked what — other than a religious revival — “is likely to move the country towards large-scale adoption of personal morality and decency?” That is, to honor following the rules more than obtaining a desired outcome. To insist on fairness, even when it goes against your interest. To look upon adversaries as friends who are temporarily on the other side.
Isn’t this good sportsmanship? Isn’t it part of what it means to play a game? After all, the goal of playing a game is not primarily to win today’s game, but to play in a way that encourages long-term success.
And maybe it’s not only organized sports, where the referees and the parents keep things in line. There’s a place for organized sports, to learn certain disciplines and such, but there’s also a very important place for pick-up games — for backyard football and for playing baseball on the street, where you have to make up your own rules and resolve your own conflicts.
It is possible that the decline in civility corresponds with a decline in sports participation?