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The national and international initiatives – from the attempted coup previously to latest incursions and statements – weaken both national and global jurisprudence. The implications are broader.

These actions threaten the core idea of what we mean by.

A ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the stronger from preying upon and using the less powerful. Otherwise, we risk being locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right could survive.

This ideal is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the global system established after WWII advocated by the America, built on collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.

Yet, it is a delicate construct, frequently ignored by those who seek to abuse their power. Maintaining it demands that the influential have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and war.

Every time people or corporations or countries that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are not, the structure of our shared norms frays. If these actions are allowed to continue, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.

Today, we live in a global community marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the powerful to take advantage of the disadvantaged because they feel above the law.

The resources of a handful of billionaires is difficult to fathom. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to centralize economic and political clout to a greater degree. The military might of the leading countries is unprecedented in recorded history.

Empowered by complicit legislators and a sympathetic judicial body, the executive office has been made into the most dominant and unchecked entity of the state in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you see the looming crisis.

A clear connection connects earlier lawless actions to present-day provocations. Each were founded upon the arrogance of absolute power.

There is much the same in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.

But, unfettered might does not create right. It fosters fragility, upended order, and war.

History shows that frameworks designed to limit the powerful also protect them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for more power and wealth eventually lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And pave the way for global conflict.

Such disregard for rules will plague America and the global community – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for a long time.