The Former President's Actions Pose a Danger to Civilization.
His national and international policies – from the attempted coup five years ago to latest incursions and statements – weaken not only national and global legal frameworks. However, the issue goes deeper.
They endanger the core idea of a civilized world.
The guiding principle of any advanced culture is to stop the more powerful from preying upon and using the weaker. Failing that, we risk being permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.
This concept lies at the center of America’s founding documents. This is also the heart of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the America, built on international cooperation, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the legal authority.
Yet, it is a delicate principle, often broken by those who would exploit their influence. Maintaining it requires that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.
Unchecked strength does not equal right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and hostilities.
Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are not, the fabric of civilization frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.
Today, we live in a global community marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than ever before. This invites the privileged to exploit the less fortunate because they feel above the law.
The wealth of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The reach of global industrial giants covers much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is could further concentrate wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the major powers is unmatched in the annals of time.
Supported by complicit legislators and an accommodating judicial body, the presidency has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of government in history.
Put it all together and you see the looming crisis.
A direct line links previous breaches of norms to ongoing threats. These were premised on the arrogance of absolute power.
You see parallel dynamics in international affairs: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, raw power does not create right. It fosters instability, revolution, and bloodshed.
Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also protect them. Absent these limits, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten global conflict.
This blatant contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and indeed civilization – for the foreseeable future.
