I’m sure my political attention and yours will inevitably continue to revolve around the constitutional crisis we’re headed into or are up to our eyeballs in already, depending on your point of view — but it’s worth your time reading this piece by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch about the widespread rebellion and unrest underway today in so many countries around the globe. In Bunch’s estimation, this is the largest year of upheaval since 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and the Chinese government slaughtered protesters in Tiananmen Square. From Iraq to Bolivia to Hong Kong, he writes, millions of people are protesting against government corruption and ineptitude, mostly but not exclusively representing left or left-of-center movements. He makes some intriguing points about the origins of the corruption that’s drawn their ire, as well as the U.S. role in creating and sustaining the current situation in countries like Iraq and Haiti.

Bunch doesn’t mention it explicitly, but the fact that the U.S. is facing its own crisis of corruption (and democracy) suggests that we’ve got more in common with these far-flung movements than might be readily apparent (particularly if we’re not even aware of them to begin with). Not for the first time, I’m thinking that we badly need more international contacts among groups and movements involved in these struggles; it’s impossible not to be inspired by the hundreds of thousands of Bolivians marching to save their forests, and it seems that for Bolivians to know millions of Americans are on their side couldn’t hurt, either. At the same time, as Bunch points out, several of the Democratic presidential candidates have highlighted the importance of fighting corruption on various fronts, reminding us of the positive sea change that U.S. power, properly directed, could bring about in worldwide prospects for democratic governance and economic justice. It’s not like we needed more incentive than we already have to bring the Trump administration to justice and focus the nation on building a just and sustainable future for all Americans — but it should help to remember that we’re not alone in our struggles, and that how we resolve our current crisis will have repercussions far beyond our borders.