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The domestic and foreign initiatives – including the effort to overturn the election in the past to recent actions and threats – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

They jeopardize the very concept of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to forestall the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Without this, we would be trapped in a brutish war where survival of the strongest wins.

This ideal is embedded of the nation's founding texts. This is also the foundation of the postwar international order advocated by the America, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.

But, it is a fragile construct, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their authority. Maintaining it demands that the those in charge have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking short-term wins, and that the rest of us demand responsibility if they don't.

Absolute power does not equal right. It leads to turmoil, chaos, and war.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are weaker, the structure of our shared norms frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Today, we live in a society and world with deepening divides. Influence and wealth are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This creates conditions for the privileged to take advantage of the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The wealth of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The reach of global industrial giants extends over much of the globe. Advanced technology is could centralize wealth and power even more. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is without parallel in recorded history.

Enabled by complicit legislators and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked entity of the state in the modern era.

Combine these factors and you perceive the threat.

A direct line connects earlier transgressions to current threats. Both were premised on the hubris of omnipotence.

There is a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by powerful corporate entities.

Yet, strength without restraint does not create right. It produces instability, revolution, and war.

The lessons of the past reveal that rules and conventions to limit the influential also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for increased control and resources ultimately lead to their downfall – and with them their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten global conflict.

This kind of contempt for legal order will plague international stability – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.