The Former President's Policies Pose a Threat to Civilization.
The internal and external policies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process previously to recent actions and statements – weaken both domestic and international law. But that’s not all.
These actions threaten the core idea of what we mean by.
A moral purpose of a functioning society is to prevent the dominant from attacking and exploiting the less powerful. Failing that, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest wins.
This principle is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the America, built on collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.
But, it is a vulnerable ideal, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their influence. Maintaining it necessitates that the influential have enough integrity to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.
Unchecked strength is not right. It makes for instability, chaos, and conflict.
Every time people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are weaker, the structure of our shared norms frays. Should such behavior are not contained, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a society and world with deepening divides. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This encourages the elite to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The wealth of certain tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans much of the globe. Advanced technology is could centralize resources and influence further. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.
Empowered by complicit legislators and a pliant supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in history.
Put it all together and you see the danger.
An unbroken thread ties past transgressions to current menaces. These were based on the hubris of absolute power.
One observes parallel dynamics in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the global depredation by massive conglomerates.
But, strength without restraint does not make right. It fosters instability, revolution, and bloodshed.
The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to constrain the influential also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches in time lead to their downfall – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk global conflict.
This blatant contempt for legal order will plague the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.
