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The domestic and foreign initiatives – ranging from the attempted coup five years ago to current incursions and threats – weaken both national and global jurisprudence. But that’s not all.

They endanger the core idea of civilization itself.

The ethical foundation of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the weaker. Failing that, we could find ourselves locked in a brutish war where might makes right wins.

This principle is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the postwar international order advocated by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democracy, individual liberties, and the legal authority.

But, it is a delicate ideal, easily violated by those who seek to abuse their authority. Maintaining it demands that the powerful have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unchecked strength does not equal right. It makes for instability, chaos, and conflict.

Every time people or corporations or countries that are advantaged target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of society unravels. If such aggression are not contained, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a society and world marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are held by fewer hands than in recent memory. This invites the privileged to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The fortunes of a small group of tycoons is almost beyond comprehension. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to further concentrate wealth and power further. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.

Enabled by a compliant faction and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of government in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you grasp the threat.

An unbroken thread connects previous lawless actions to ongoing provocations. These were based on the overconfidence of omnipotence.

There is much the same in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.

However, unfettered might does not create right. It makes for instability, revolution, and war.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to check the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches eventually lead to their downfall – taking down their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk international catastrophe.

This blatant contempt for legal order will haunt America and the global community – and indeed civilization – for a long time.