>

Yeah I don’t think it’s worth evaluating the other factors here. If the president can lead a coup and walk free, yes politics are worse in the US than elsewhere.
As a Canadian, American politics seems like pure chaos and spectacle.
That said, I know US politics is tame compared to other places on the planet. >

On the contrary, I think you guys forego shaking up your system in the name of politeness. Your healthcare system is on the verge of collapse, your housing crisis is worse than ours, and your wage stagnation is more broadly felt. I think Canadians making their anti-americanism a personality trait has backfired to the point where when your whole society is degrading faster than ours you don't want to even acknowledge because your instinct is to default to "at least we're not america!!!1" than actually resolve your issues. >

I’m not so sure.
I think things are tough because things are tough in general. A lot of countries are having a hard time now. A lot of it is Post-Covid shockwaves.
For example, Inflation isn’t limited to just Canada. Many countries have inflation.
Expensive housing is another. While Canada is among the worst for this we are not alone in this problem. The US, UK and Canada all have this problem. 
In fact, the World Bank estimates 1.6 billion people will be affected by a global housing shortage.
So, Canada isn’t unique in its problems the fact these problems are around the world… implies more  that there might be systemic failures in our economy rather than something specific about Canadian political culture.
The World Health Organization also estimate a global shortage of healthcare workers.
I’m not saying Canada is perfect. I’m addressing the specific claim here that our situation is tightly tied to our political system.
I respectfully disagree. It doesn’t seem to be the case. While our political system my exacerbate some of the problems (or all? Who knows.), I’m reluctant to blame our political system for what seems to be, Global trends that were made worse by a global pandemic. >

My point to you is not that your problems are unique - it was the contrary. My point is that canadians have pretty much the same problems as the U.S does, in some cases worse than the U.S. does. I bring this up to show you that maintaining your political "calmness" is not the flex you think it is anymore and may actively be hindering your ability to address your issues because when these issues are pointed out, instead of arguing about what to do like Americans do, canadians find reasons to deflect by saying things like "well at least we're not the U.S."
Canada's housing crisis is the worst among developed nations
Canada's inflation rate basically on par with U.S.
Canadian Medical association basically admitting the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse.
Canadians have the same problems the U.S. has - you guys are just passively accepting it instead of defying your establishment like Americans have the balls to do. Maybe to you it looks like asylums taking over the system, but on the reverse side the way I see Canada is a bunch of sheep that haven't ever learned to fend for themselves because they thought they had it good for so long that now in the face of danger they're accepting death because they never developed any confrontation skills. >

People value stability. You can’t fault people valuing stability. Remember Canada wasn’t born from a Revolution or had a Civil War to try to entrench Slavery as an Institution.
How we ended up where we are is through solid, stable governance. No table flipping. No bloody wars. Different culture.
Where you see “Sheep”, we see a steady hand. A country avoiding the excesses of individualism and Imperialism.
Americans and Canadians both see government differently. Canadians trust the government more than Americans. But again this is because we didn’t need to fight a war of Independence. We’re not immediately cynical of the state.
The country is different. If the American perspective is “they’re sheep”, personally I would disagree with that. Because I have yet to see an example of truly sane governance down south.
The Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade while 70%+ of the population supporting it, for example, is something I would consider destabilizing.
January 6, was destabilizing as well. 
The American story isn’t done yet and I’d be reluctant to follow a model that so easily collapses to instability when things get hard…
So sure. You see us as “sheep waiting for death”. I see Americans as “sheep running toward death”.
I guess time will well. >

So you don’t even disagree with me that the US and Canada are heading in the same direction- you’re just claiming your reaction to it is more stable. Maybe it is in fact stability- but it also sounds like being complicit In your own subjugating. Americans and Canadians might be both enslaved wage slaves, but at least the Canadians get to brag they did it in a “stable way” (aka we never raised a fuss.) sound like a huge cope to me >

I think you're completely missing the point that u/FatStupidOldMan is trying to make. What they're trying to say is that the stability of the Canadian system is the core reason why Canada is not moving in the same direction as the US. They're saying that Canada's problems are more due to the ups and downs any country/economy faces, while the current problems of the US are rooted in deeper structural and societal issues, and are partly due an excessive fear of the State, which Canadians don't have to the extent that the Americans do, thereby making the State more involved in political and economic affairs, which guards against the unpredictability that comes with free market-like capitalism and individualism. The State guards the electoral system way more in Canada than in the US, and that's mainly because Canadians trust the State to do so, while the Americans don't with their own State.
(Btw I'm not an American or a Canadian, but I kinda agree with u/FatStupidOldMan, even though there are some disagreements I've with them too. I basically was trying to explain their point from their perspective, because you weren't getting it. I'm not trying to judge either countries here). >

Thanks for this. It was mostly my point that because we govern the way we do, hardships become easier to manage.
For example, in Canada’s parliamentary system. Minority governments must work with other parties to accomplish things and they do.
Personally, I find that more useful than American gridlock / lame duck sessions. >

No problem! 
And yeah I broadly agree with you wrt these points, even though in theory I'd rather have a single majority government. But in my country (India), which also has a Parliamentary system, the majority of the good work has come out of coalition or minority governments lmao. It's a weird track record, but it is what it is. What you said about having to work together, is definitely a factor in all this. Right now, India has a single majority government (since 2014) and it's really wrecking stuff up in many ways, even though they've done some very few good things. The last time India had a majority government (1984-1989), it was highly ineffective as well lol. 1990-2014 had its low points ofc but overall it was a great period for India wherein a lot of sensible policies and reforms got passed, and the politicians were in general more willing to work together for lack of a choice lmao. >

I don't think so. Its mostly just that american politics are everyones buisness, whereas nobody really cares about politics in certain small european countries. >

Probably should? The EU is honestly a way more interesting market long or even medium term. Our primary export is debt and few countries like "the dollar" (really T-bills) as a reserve nearly as well as they did 10-20 years ago.
Their markets, however, are highly regulated so I guess that makes them far LESS interesting to the big movers and shakers. >

Nah... the E.U. is stagnant at best. Most Euro countries are past their peak and are just riding the coattails of wealth they accrued in previous eras. >

Bold claim, got any sauce? >

EU economic recovery not projected to occur until 2024, and even in their optimist 1.6% growth in two years time will still be, for comparison, WORSE than where the USA is NOW lmao
EU population in decline >

A lot of people from Europe have no idea the vastness of undeveloped space and resources the U.S. still has. We have a lot of space to expand into still. 
For example, we have sparsely populated states in the Midwest with more geographic space than major western European countries. >

Politically, it's not that we're any better.  It's just that unlike a lot of places, our lifestyles from the 20 teens didn't change all that much.  Sure, we got some minor shortages here and there and prices are higher....but like at the end of the day, you can still stuff your face in a well-heated home and take a vacation here and there.
We just have too much comfort in our lives to truly be pissed.  We're still pissed but we also still have a lot to lose.  When you have less to lose, that's when shit gets real. >

I would agree with this. Political rhetoric in America seems polarized and crazy but most people are still pretty comfortable. >

Maybe it is able to be politicized and crazy because people are comfortable. 
I use an app that lets local people talk to one another (like fb but you have to prove you are local w a postcard) and moved to a completely different area. I had lived in Texas in a purple area (divided politics) with fairly high crime but they never debated politics and were fairly polite to one another about some serious matters (offensive graffiti about their child or fireworks going off all night long).
In my new, no crime Rural red area it is opposite. They fight over every issue big and small and are quite harsh with one another about local and national politics. In one case someone was "stealing" deer antlers from roadkill and at least a dozen people weighed in to condemn and shame them. 
I think they squabble so much because they feel safe. >

I would instead say that the red voters are more likely to resort to anger. I don't think it's a "feels safe" issue.
You get into a homogenous group and you will find the baser instincts get reinforced instead of tempered. >

These aren't red voters lashing out tho, most of those aren't on there or are discussing home repairs. The political divide actually leans democrat / hysterical about inane issues and the few on the right who are particularly emphatic complain about getting banned.
The app has an overt left bias and I believe it is HQ'd in SF.
Right-wingers don't tend to scold people for stealing deer antlers off of roadkill. >

American politics are more impactful than most other countries’ politics. Like it or not, what happens in America’s politics sets the stage for what happens in the rest of the world. >

And beyond that, Americans have outsized influence on social media. I don’t know if that’s because of its the largest English-speaking country, or if the polarized rhetoric attracts more attention. 
But the result is that American controversy tends to be on display on everyone’s social media feed throughout the Western world. And some people in every country begin to take up the banner of whatever polarizing issue grabs them, even if the core issue isn’t really a problem in their own country. 
I’ve definitely been seeing American drama spread into Irish political discourse more and more over the past few years. >

If you think America is bad, take a look at Latin American and Eastern European politics. Countries like Italy and Belgium are also massive shit shows. >

Not exactly a comforting comparison. >

NZ's PM has been in the job for 6 years, she's been subject to death threats and harassment for a while know.  Don't blame her. 
The UK is a shitshow right now the Torries have mucked up everything, they have gone through 3 PMs in 6 months, each one progressively worse than the last. The Austerity measures are out of bounds, the NHS in on the brink of collapse. You add BREXIT on top of all of that and they are well and truly fucked.  
Everyone the world over is going to hate who is in charge at some point or another, it is just human nature. Some countries are just better at hiding their crazy or just have less of it than the US does. >

Brexit is where all this nonsense started. I read somewhere that Brexit is responsible for the UK economy being something like 9% smaller now than what it would be had the UK stayed in the EU. That is massive and no wonder everything is starting to fall apart. I feel so bad for the people who voted remain. They're getting completely screwed over by the half the country who ignorantly voted to leave. >

Many didn't vote or voted leave as a laugh because they thought enough other people would do the right thing and vote remain. I remember the horrified people the next day when they saw it passed and most were saying, what have we done? >

This is why you never treat your vote as a “laugh” or a joke. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. >

Depends on the basis for comparison.  
I have some Italian friends that thought it was hilarious when Trump was elected.  Brexit was and is a shitshow.  And I now live in Spain where a prominent politician said that Spain brought civilization to Latin America.  
And of course you have a huge mess in Argentina, Bolosonaro and the recent chaos in Brazil, AMLO the idiot in Mexico and corruption in general throughout Latin America.  
There are more stable and sane political systems in Europe but for the most part I think that the U.S. is just bleeping bigger on most peoples' radars.  And yeah the U.S. is fucked but it could be a lot worse. >

I'm not from there, but I wouldn't call the NZ situation "turmoil".
She's stepping down in an ordered and structured manner for sound reasons and, importantly, for better outcomes for her country.
If anything, I'd like to see more self-awareness like this in leaders who know when they don't have the energy to lead anymore allow things to progress in this manner. >

It’s funny cuz American politicians have better approval ratings than most other western countries >

What other developed western nation has had an incumbent President lose and then lie about the election results, incite a violent attack on the elected representatives and face no consequences? >

Yes.  That said it's probably exaggerated in some places; and it has probably varied some over time.  It also depends which 'western countries' you compare to.  If you look up the various democracy indices for instance; the US does worse than many of its peer countries; there's still a lot of room to do far FAR worse than the US, but there's definitely considerable room to be better.
America's economy being 'better' depends somewhat on how you measure it.  It also helps that america is simply large and has a strong supply of natural resources as well as manufacturing.
Resignations are a good thing; it means people who do bad things leave, rather than the problem where people who do bad things stay in office and their party refuses to remove them from power.
Some of America's problems are structural resulting from an outdated constitution; while it still works reasonably well due to America's advantageous position ad long history, there are a number of frustrations and problems like partisanship that are exacerbated by the FPTP effects.
The US also currently has one party that's really been going off the rails and pushing against the rule of law as well as the basics of sound governance.  Admittedly many in Europe are also having similar issues, but not quite as bad (like if you look at the % of the vote acquired by various factions). >

It is just hard to tell who is going off the rails.  The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....
Or the party that worships guns, supports the patriot act that strips privacy from individuals, insists that the boarder should be secure, tolerates a blow hard as a party leader. 
Both parties are filled with self serving, self dealing, self enriching egotists whose gains in net worth alone makes it hard to dispute that moral and ethical officials are the exceptions not the rule.
Maybe other countries are better?  Hard to say. >


The party that can't identify what a woman is, thinks censorship is needed, pushes to regulate every aspect of a person's life ....

I really, really wasn't sure which party this line was talking about until the line after this one. It describes the GOP very well. >

Republicans pretty clearly define a woman as a biological female. >

What does that prove? No mention of politics exists in your link.  And even if one or more are republicans, that's no party platform or any officials.
If you mean to prove people can be mean, violent,  and obnoxious, great.  Done.  But it is bigoted to believe no democrat could do the same horrible stuff. >


What does that prove? 

a "biological woman" was beaten for using the women's bathroom. Republicans don't use the "biological women" definition. >

Those were democrats.  Read the article.  It doesn't mention democrats nor Republicans, so I have just as much reason to think they are democrats and you can't prove they are not. >


so I have just as much reason

no, you really, really don't. >

How did y’all’s insurrection go?
Oh, you haven’t had one yet? Not you Brazil. I’m talking to everyone else.