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His domestic and foreign initiatives – including the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to current actions and warnings – undermine both domestic and international legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

They endanger the very concept of civilization itself.

A ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Failing that, we risk being permanently immersed in a brutish war where only the fittest prevails.

This concept is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the global system established after WWII championed by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.

But, it is a fragile principle, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their influence. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society hold them accountable should they falter.

Absolute power does not make right. It results in turmoil, upheaval, and war.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms weakens. If such aggression are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can plunge into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Today, we live in a global community grown vastly more unequal. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to exploit the disadvantaged because they feel above the law.

The wealth of certain billionaires is difficult to fathom. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to centralize resources and influence even more. The destructive power of the major powers is without parallel in human history.

Empowered by a compliant faction and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of the state in recent memory.

Put it all together and you grasp the threat.

A direct line links previous transgressions to ongoing threats. These were based on the hubris of invincibility.

One observes much the same in other global contexts: in territorial invasions, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.

However, raw power does not establish right. It produces fragility, revolution, and bloodshed.

History shows that rules and conventions to limit the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their insatiable demands for more power and wealth ultimately lead to their downfall – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten world war.

This kind of lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and indeed a rules-based order – for years to come.