Fair Go is really important for happiness in Australia and it means equality of opportunity and giving everyone a fair shot, It means that no matter where you are from or who you are, if you can do the job there should be no reason why you cannot - and this extends to saying you will give something a fair crack, like you will give it your best try. This, in turn, makes you happy - because there is a feeling that everything is achievable. Every one is equal, and you are all in it together.
Australia regularly ranks among the top ten happiest countries worldwide and Aussies have always been known as upbeat, friendly bunch. They learn from an early age to get along, play the game and participate above all else. Teachers are fixated on this And everyone is encouraged to take part. I remember at school there were as many left handed paris of scissors as there were right handed ones in the classroom. I always got stuck with the green handled left handed ones.
But the Australian ideal of giving at fair go is most evident when it comes to the country's national obsession: sport. This is more important than demonstrating any natural aptitude and all Australian grow up playing net ball or football in winter and cricket in summer. Cricket is the closest thing which is religion in Australia. Which is why the national team's 2018 ball tempering scandal knocked the knees out from under many Aussies. The International cricket Council gave the Australian team a one game suspension but cricket Australia - the national association - decided to observe a one year suspension. We punished ourselves far more harshly than the rest of the world did. The offence of sandpapering a ball seems so mild in these day of doping scandals and dubious urine samples. Cheating is completely against the Australian values of playing fair - where everything has to be just an equal.
