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His internal and external policies – from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to latest incursions and statements – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

These actions jeopardize the fundamental meaning of civilization itself.

A guiding principle of civilized society is to prevent the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Otherwise, we risk being locked in a brutish war where might makes right wins.

This concept lies at the center of the nation's founding texts. This is also the heart of the postwar international order supported by the US, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the supremacy of law.

But, it is a delicate ideal, frequently ignored by those who choose to misuse their power. Preserving it necessitates that the influential have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that society ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It makes for uncertainty, upheaval, and hostilities.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are not, the framework of society unravels. Should such behavior are not contained, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.

We now inhabit a international landscape with deepening divides. Influence and wealth are held by fewer hands than ever before. This invites the powerful to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel omnipotent.

The wealth of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace spans numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to consolidate wealth and power to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is unmatched in human history.

Supported by complicit legislators and a pliant supreme court, the presidency has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable agent of the state in history.

Put it all together and you perceive the danger.

A direct line ties past transgressions to present-day provocations. Each were founded upon the arrogance of omnipotence.

There is much the same in international affairs: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.

But, unfettered might does not establish right. It produces instability, upheaval, and bloodshed.

History shows that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.

Such contempt for legal order will haunt America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for years to come.