The Former President's Policies Constitute a Threat to Our Social Fabric.
His domestic and foreign policies – including the effort to overturn the election five years ago to current incursions and statements – erode both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
They threaten the core idea of what we mean by.
The guiding principle of any advanced culture is to stop the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest could survive.
This concept is central of America’s founding documents. This is also the foundation of the global system established after WWII supported by the United States, emphasizing international cooperation, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the supremacy of law.
However, it is a fragile ideal, easily violated by those who would exploit their power. Maintaining it demands that the powerful have enough integrity to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public hold them accountable if they don't.
Absolute power does not make right. It results in uncertainty, chaos, and war.
Each instance entities that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are weaker, the framework of society frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a society and world grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the privileged to exploit the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The resources of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The reach of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors spans numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is could further concentrate economic and political clout to a greater degree. The offensive capability of the major powers is unprecedented in recorded history.
Enabled by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been made into the most dominant and unchecked agent of the state in history.
Put it all together and you see the looming crisis.
An unbroken thread links past transgressions to ongoing provocations. These were based on the hubris of invincibility.
One observes a similar pattern in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.
However, raw power does not make right. It produces uncertainty, upheaval, and war.
History shows that frameworks designed to constrain the powerful also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually cause their collapse – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
This kind of disregard for rules will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for years to come.
