The Former President's Policies Constitute a Risk to Our Social Fabric.
His national and international initiatives – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to recent moves and warnings – undermine both domestic and international law. But that’s not all.
These actions jeopardize the very concept of what we mean by.
A guiding principle of a functioning society is to prevent the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Failing that, we would be permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.
This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the global system established after WWII advocated by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Yet, it is a vulnerable principle, easily violated by those who would exploit their authority. Upholding it necessitates that the influential have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society hold them accountable when they fail.
Unfettered might does not make right. It leads to uncertainty, disruption, and conflict.
Each instance entities that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the structure of civilization frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into chaos and war. We have seen this pattern previously.
Our current reality is a global community marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are increasingly centralized than ever before. This encourages the elite to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they feel untouchable.
The resources of certain tycoons is difficult to fathom. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans numerous countries. AI is likely to consolidate wealth and power further. The military might of the world's largest nations is without parallel in the annals of time.
Enabled by political allies and a pliant judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable entity of state power in history.
Consider this confluence and you see the danger.
An unbroken thread ties previous transgressions to current threats. These were founded upon the arrogance of absolute power.
One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.
Yet, strength without restraint does not establish right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and armed conflict.
History shows that laws and norms to constrain the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually lead to their downfall – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten world war.
Such disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over international stability – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.
