This Is What Happens When Identity Politics Takes Control

It’s no secret that, as Americans, we mostly focus on domestic politics in our own country. Unlike, say, Canadians, we don’t obsess over the daily comings-and-goings of other nations. It’s virtually impossible to find a single American who can name a Canadian Supreme Court justice or member of parliament, for example. I know I certainly can’t. By contrast, Canadians can tell you all about Clarence Thomas and Matt Gaetz and so on. This is a well-established phenomenon and it makes sense, because the United States is a lot more important than any other country.

But even with that in mind, every once in a while, something happens in the parliament of a foreign country that’s hard for us to ignore here in America. Maybe a lawmaker in Taiwan steals a bill and runs away with it, in order to prevent it from being passed into law. That’s something that happened, and was hilarious. Or maybe a member of parliament in India pepper-sprays his colleagues when they don’t vote the right way. Or maybe Italy’s parliament descends into a bench-clearing brawl, which requires one politician to leave the chamber in a wheelchair. These are all well-documented incidents that may not always have a lot of direct relevance to us, but more often than not, at the very least, they’re entertaining to watch. It’s a whole genre on YouTube, actually.