The Former President's Approach Constitute a Danger to Civilized Society.
His national and international initiatives – from the attempted coup in the past to recent incursions and threats – erode both domestic and international legal frameworks. The implications are broader.
These actions jeopardize the core idea of a civilized world.
A moral purpose of a functioning society is to forestall the dominant from preying upon and using the less powerful. Without this, we could find ourselves trapped in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest wins.
This ideal is central of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the America, which stresses collective action, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Yet, it is a fragile construct, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it necessitates that the influential have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.
Unfettered might is not right. It results in uncertainty, disruption, and hostilities.
Each instance individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the structure of our shared norms frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can fall into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.
Today, we live in a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This creates conditions for the elite to exploit the less fortunate because they feel above the law.
The fortunes of a handful of billionaires is staggering. The influence of global industrial giants extends over much of the globe. Advanced technology is could centralize resources and influence to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.
Supported by political allies and a sympathetic supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of the state in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you see the threat.
A direct line links earlier transgressions to ongoing menaces. Each were premised on the overconfidence of invincibility.
You see a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.
But, raw power does not make right. It fosters uncertainty, revolution, and bloodshed.
The lessons of the past reveal that frameworks designed to constrain the influential also protect them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth in time cause their collapse – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk international catastrophe.
This blatant contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.