The Former President's Policies Present a Threat to Our Social Fabric.
His national and international strategies – from the attempted coup in the past to recent moves and warnings – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
These actions threaten the very concept of what we mean by.
A guiding principle of a functioning society is to stop the dominant from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Without this, we would be locked in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest could survive.
This principle is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the core of the modern framework of international relations supported by the America, which stresses collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.
However, it is a delicate construct, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their authority. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It results in uncertainty, chaos, and war.
Each instance people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are weaker, the structure of our shared norms unravels. If these actions are not contained, the system fails. Without intervention, the world can fall into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
Our current reality is a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the powerful to leverage their position against the weaker because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The resources of a handful of tycoons is staggering. The reach of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to consolidate economic and political clout even more. The destructive power of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.
Empowered by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the presidency has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of state power in recent memory.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection ties previous breaches of norms to current threats. Each were based on the arrogance of omnipotence.
One observes parallel dynamics in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
However, raw power does not establish right. It fosters uncertainty, upended order, and war.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to check the powerful also protect them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for world war.
Such lawlessness will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.
