When I was growing up in the 1980s it seemed there were a lot more organizations with monthly membership meetings. I can remember my dad taking me to Audubon society meetings, and as an annoyingly precocious teenager I went to some of the local skeptics society meetings. And it seems my parents went to plenty of various other meeting as well. Usually there was a guest speaker and refreshments and socializing afterwards.
Now, not so much. There is somewhat a sense of parent communities around kids' activities but the problem there is that, once the kid loses interest or ages out, then *poof* there goes the associated adult socialization. But I also have to say, the thought of trying to run a monthly membership meeting terrifies me--having been roped into too many leadership roles, I'll admit to avoiding the monthly meetings of the one group I know that does hold them in large part to avoid getting roped in again.
One thing that's always struck me about the US is the absence of organised team sports competitions for adults. For lots of Australians, that provides a substitute for the social functions of church. Sporting clubs set up to support such teams (serving meals and drinks, and often supported by slot machines, sadly) are a major part of social life here
It seems to me you kinda did find your extra communities with your sport teams related stuff, no?
But I do have one suggestion at the very least for boys/men. Basically, the Army/Boy Scouts.
The way I'd pitch it is that it's good to be physically fit, it's good to have practical skills (map reading/night navigation, ambush planning, clearing houses, maybe going as far as teaching repairing and hotwiring cars etc) and every boy/man I know more or less shyly admit liking the idea of being able to kill so weapon handling should not be a hard sell...
But the physical and discipline required to execute anything as a small unit, let alone at slightly bigger group size, would be extremely good for community building... especially if the boys/men of an area were trained together.
When I was growing up in the 1980s it seemed there were a lot more organizations with monthly membership meetings. I can remember my dad taking me to Audubon society meetings, and as an annoyingly precocious teenager I went to some of the local skeptics society meetings. And it seems my parents went to plenty of various other meeting as well. Usually there was a guest speaker and refreshments and socializing afterwards.
Now, not so much. There is somewhat a sense of parent communities around kids' activities but the problem there is that, once the kid loses interest or ages out, then *poof* there goes the associated adult socialization. But I also have to say, the thought of trying to run a monthly membership meeting terrifies me--having been roped into too many leadership roles, I'll admit to avoiding the monthly meetings of the one group I know that does hold them in large part to avoid getting roped in again.
I was thinking about something like an Amish barn raising to build compromise.
One thing that's always struck me about the US is the absence of organised team sports competitions for adults. For lots of Australians, that provides a substitute for the social functions of church. Sporting clubs set up to support such teams (serving meals and drinks, and often supported by slot machines, sadly) are a major part of social life here
It seems to me you kinda did find your extra communities with your sport teams related stuff, no?
But I do have one suggestion at the very least for boys/men. Basically, the Army/Boy Scouts.
The way I'd pitch it is that it's good to be physically fit, it's good to have practical skills (map reading/night navigation, ambush planning, clearing houses, maybe going as far as teaching repairing and hotwiring cars etc) and every boy/man I know more or less shyly admit liking the idea of being able to kill so weapon handling should not be a hard sell...
But the physical and discipline required to execute anything as a small unit, let alone at slightly bigger group size, would be extremely good for community building... especially if the boys/men of an area were trained together.
Oh, look, I reinvented citizens' militias...