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The national and international policies – from the attempted coup in the past to current actions and threats – undermine not only domestic and international jurisprudence. The implications are broader.

They threaten the core idea of a civilized world.

A ethical foundation of a functioning society is to forestall the more powerful from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we could find ourselves locked in a state of nature where might makes right prevails.

This principle is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the heart of the postwar international order championed by the US, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, individual liberties, and the legal authority.

Yet, it is a delicate ideal, often broken by those who seek to abuse their authority. Preserving it requires that the powerful have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It leads to uncertainty, upheaval, and war.

Every time entities that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the structure of society unravels. If such aggression are not contained, the system fails. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into chaos and war. It has happened before.

We now inhabit a global community marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This encourages the elite to take advantage of the weaker because they feel omnipotent.

The wealth of certain billionaires is difficult to fathom. The influence of global industrial giants spans a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is could centralize wealth and power to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unprecedented in the annals of time.

Empowered by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been made into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you perceive the threat.

An unbroken thread connects past lawless actions to present-day menaces. Each were based on the overconfidence of absolute power.

There is much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.

Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters instability, revolution, and bloodshed.

History shows that frameworks designed to limit the powerful also shield them. Absent these limits, their endless appetite for more power and wealth ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.

This kind of lawlessness will plague America and the global community – and indeed civilized conduct – for years to come.