The Former President's Actions Constitute a Danger to Civilized Society.
The internal and external policies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process previously to latest incursions and statements – weaken both national and global law. The implications are broader.
These actions threaten the fundamental meaning of a civilized world.
The ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to stop the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Failing that, we risk being locked in a state of nature where only the fittest could survive.
This concept is central of America’s founding documents. It is equally the foundation of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the America, built on international cooperation, popular sovereignty, human rights, and the supremacy of law.
Yet, it is a vulnerable principle, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their influence. Upholding it demands that the influential have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us hold them accountable when they fail.
Absolute power does not equal right. It makes for instability, upheaval, and conflict.
Whenever entities that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are not, the fabric of our shared norms weakens. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can plunge into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in modern history. This invites the elite to leverage their position against the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.
The resources of certain billionaires is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to centralize wealth and power to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in human history.
Enabled by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none entity of the state in recent memory.
Combine these factors and you grasp the threat.
A clear connection connects past lawless actions to current provocations. Both were based on the arrogance of omnipotence.
One observes much the same in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, raw power does not make right. It fosters instability, upheaval, and bloodshed.
History shows that frameworks designed to check the powerful also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time bring them down – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk world war.
Such lawlessness will cast a long shadow over international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for years to come.
