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His internal and external policies – ranging from the effort to overturn the election five years ago to latest moves and warnings – weaken both domestic and international legal frameworks. But that’s not all.

These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.

The ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being trapped in a state of nature where survival of the strongest wins.

This ideal lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the foundation of the modern framework of international relations supported by the America, built on multilateralism, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the rule of law.

However, it is a vulnerable ideal, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their influence. Upholding it requires that the those in charge have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that the public demand responsibility when they fail.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It results in instability, chaos, and war.

Every time entities that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the framework of society frays. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can descend into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a international landscape with deepening divides. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This encourages the elite to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they feel above the law.

The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of global industrial giants extends over a vast portion of the world. AI is could centralize resources and influence further. The destructive power of the major powers is unprecedented in human history.

Enabled by complicit legislators and a sympathetic judicial body, the executive office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of the state in the modern era.

Combine these factors and you see the looming crisis.

An unbroken thread links earlier lawless actions to ongoing menaces. Each were premised on the hubris of invincibility.

You see a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in expansive ambitions, and in the global depredation by massive conglomerates.

Yet, unfettered might does not establish right. It produces uncertainty, upheaval, and armed conflict.

The lessons of the past reveal that frameworks designed to check the influential also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for greater influence and riches in time bring them down – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.

This kind of disregard for rules will plague America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for years to come.