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His domestic and foreign policies – ranging from the challenge to the democratic process in the past to latest moves and statements – erode both national and global jurisprudence. The implications are broader.

These actions endanger the core idea of a civilized world.

The guiding principle of civilized society is to forestall the more powerful from preying upon and using the weaker. Without this, we could find ourselves locked in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest could survive.

This concept is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the global system established after WWII championed by the US, which stresses multilateralism, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.

But, it is a delicate principle, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their influence. Maintaining it necessitates that the powerful have the moral fortitude to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us hold them accountable if they don't.

Unchecked strength is not right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and conflict.

Each instance individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are weaker, the fabric of civilization weakens. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. Without intervention, the world can plunge into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a global community with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than ever before. This creates conditions for the elite to leverage their position against the disadvantaged because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The resources of a handful of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of global industrial giants covers a vast portion of the world. Artificial intelligence is likely to centralize wealth and power further. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is without parallel in the annals of time.

Supported by a compliant faction and a sympathetic judicial body, the presidency has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked entity of state power in history.

Combine these factors and you grasp the danger.

A clear connection connects past breaches of norms to ongoing provocations. Both were premised on the arrogance of invincibility.

You see parallel dynamics in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in expansive ambitions, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.

But, raw power does not create right. It produces fragility, upended order, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the influential also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for increased control and resources ultimately bring them down – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten world war.

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