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His internal and external initiatives – ranging from the effort to overturn the election previously to latest incursions and warnings – erode not only domestic and international jurisprudence. The implications are broader.

They jeopardize the core idea of what we mean by.

A guiding principle of any advanced culture is to prevent the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being permanently immersed in a brutish war where survival of the strongest prevails.

This principle is embedded of America’s founding documents. This is also the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the America, built on collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the supremacy of law.

Yet, it is a vulnerable ideal, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their authority. Upholding it requires that the those in charge have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.

Unchecked strength does not make right. It leads to turmoil, chaos, and hostilities.

Whenever people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are weaker, the structure of society frays. Should such behavior are not contained, the structure collapses. If not stopped, the world can fall into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a global community with deepening divides. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to take advantage of the weaker because they feel untouchable.

The fortunes of a handful of billionaires is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. AI is likely to consolidate resources and influence to a greater degree. The military might of the world's largest nations is unmatched in the annals of time.

Supported by political allies and an accommodating high court, the presidency has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of government in the modern era.

Put it all together and you perceive the danger.

An unbroken thread links previous lawless actions to current menaces. Each were premised on the overconfidence of absolute power.

There is much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.

Yet, strength without restraint does not make right. It produces fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually bring them down – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe.

This kind of lawlessness will plague America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.