Donald Trump's Approach Constitute a Threat to Civilized Society.
His national and international policies – ranging from the effort to overturn the election in the past to latest incursions and threats – erode both domestic and international jurisprudence. But that’s not all.
They threaten the fundamental meaning of civilization itself.
The guiding principle of a functioning society is to stop the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Without this, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.
This concept is central of America’s founding documents. This is also the foundation of the global system established after WWII supported by the America, emphasizing multilateralism, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority.
Yet, it is a vulnerable principle, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their power. Preserving it necessitates that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public demand responsibility if they don't.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It results in uncertainty, upheaval, and conflict.
Each instance individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are not, the fabric of civilization frays. Should such behavior are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can fall into instability and violence. It has happened before.
Today, we live in a global community with deepening divides. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the elite to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.
The wealth of a handful of tycoons is staggering. The power of global industrial giants extends over numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to centralize resources and influence further. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.
Supported by complicit legislators and a pliant high court, the executive office has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of government in history.
Consider this confluence and you perceive the looming crisis.
A clear connection connects earlier lawless actions to current menaces. These were premised on the overconfidence of invincibility.
One observes much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in expansive ambitions, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.
Yet, unfettered might does not make right. It fosters fragility, upheaval, and armed conflict.
Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the powerful also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources eventually lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for international catastrophe.
Such lawlessness will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and indeed civilized conduct – for a long time.