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The domestic and foreign initiatives – from the attempted coup five years ago to latest incursions and warnings – erode not only national and global jurisprudence. The implications are broader.

These actions threaten the core idea of civilization itself.

The moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the weaker. Otherwise, we risk being trapped in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.

This principle is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the heart of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the America, emphasizing collective action, democracy, human rights, and the supremacy of law.

Yet, it is a vulnerable ideal, easily violated by those who would exploit their influence. Preserving it requires that the those in charge have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that society ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.

Absolute power does not make right. It makes for instability, chaos, and hostilities.

Every time entities that are advantaged target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of our shared norms frays. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can plunge into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.

We now inhabit a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are more concentrated than in recent memory. This invites the powerful to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel above the law.

The resources of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans a vast portion of the world. AI is poised to consolidate economic and political clout further. The offensive capability of the leading countries is unprecedented in human history.

Supported by complicit legislators and an accommodating high court, the presidency has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of government in history.

Consider this confluence and you perceive the danger.

An unbroken thread ties earlier lawless actions to ongoing threats. These were based on the arrogance of omnipotence.

One observes parallel dynamics in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.

However, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters uncertainty, revolution, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to check the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – along with their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten international catastrophe.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of civilization – for years to come.