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The national and international strategies – from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to latest actions and warnings – undermine both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.

They jeopardize the core idea of what we mean by.

A ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Without this, we risk being locked in a state of nature where only the fittest prevails.

This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the heart of the modern framework of international relations supported by the US, built on international cooperation, democracy, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a fragile principle, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Preserving it requires that the influential have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Absolute power is not right. It results in turmoil, chaos, and hostilities.

Every time entities that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are not, the fabric of our shared norms unravels. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in modern history. This encourages the elite to leverage their position against the weaker because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The resources of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers much of the globe. AI is could consolidate resources and influence further. The destructive power of the leading countries is without parallel in human history.

Enabled by a compliant faction and a pliant high court, the presidency has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you see the threat.

A clear connection connects earlier lawless actions to ongoing threats. Both were based on the overconfidence of omnipotence.

One observes a similar pattern in international affairs: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.

Yet, raw power does not create right. It makes for fragility, revolution, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to limit the influential also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually bring them down – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for world war.

This blatant contempt for legal order will plague America and the global community – and indeed civilization – for years to come.