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His internal and external initiatives – including the challenge to the democratic process in the past to current moves and statements – erode not only domestic and international jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.

The guiding principle of a functioning society is to forestall the dominant from preying upon and using the weaker. Otherwise, we would be permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right wins.

This concept is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the core of the global system established after WWII advocated by the US, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.

However, it is a vulnerable principle, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their power. Preserving it requires that the those in charge have enough integrity to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.

Unchecked strength does not make right. It leads to uncertainty, chaos, and conflict.

Each instance individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the structure of civilization frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. It has happened before.

Today, we live in a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This encourages the privileged to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The wealth of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is poised to further concentrate resources and influence even more. The offensive capability of the leading countries is unmatched in recorded history.

Empowered by complicit legislators and a pliant supreme court, the highest office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in history.

Put it all together and you perceive the danger.

A clear connection ties previous lawless actions to current provocations. Both were founded upon the hubris of absolute power.

There is parallel dynamics in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by massive conglomerates.

Yet, raw power does not create right. It fosters uncertainty, upheaval, and armed conflict.

History shows that rules and conventions to check the powerful also protect them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten world war.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for a long time.