A swim team in suburban Maryland provides an example of Tocquevillean America: a nation of strong communities founded on voluntary service
contested their final meet of the summer last weekend. It was an away contest—so held at the neighbourhood pool of a different Maryland suburb from Lexington’s own. Yet it was much the same as the dozen meets, home and away, his local swim team had competed in since mid-June. There was an early start, with swimmers aged 6-18 required for warm-up laps by 8am.
That might seem unlikely. American wonks have fretted about declining civic participation since the publication of Robert Putnam’s groundbreaking study, “Bowling Alone”, two decades ago. The main explanations included growing work pressure—mainly because of women’s entry into the workforce—and the decline of social institutions such as mainline protestant churches. And as those factors have proved unremitting, so the decline has continued.
This setup gives rise to a few heroes. When not running the Dolphins—and until recently the local road race, a soccer team and various things at church—Mr Mascott manages a company and four children . Otherwise, for most of the parents involved volunteering for the Dolphins is not at all altruistic because the benefits are so large. The company of broadly like-minded people is amusing . As well as being great fun, the team is likewise a lesson for the children in building social capital.
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