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His domestic and foreign strategies – from the challenge to the democratic process five years ago to current incursions and statements – undermine not only domestic and international law. However, the issue goes deeper.

These actions endanger the very concept of civilization itself.

A moral purpose of civilized society is to forestall the more powerful from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we risk being locked in a conflict of all against all where might makes right wins.

This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. This is also the core of the modern framework of international relations supported by the United States, emphasizing collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the supremacy of law.

However, it is a delicate construct, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Maintaining it requires that the those in charge have a sense of duty to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that society hold them accountable should they falter.

Unchecked strength does not make right. It results in uncertainty, upheaval, and hostilities.

Each instance people or corporations or countries that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are weaker, the fabric of society frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into chaos and war. History provides ample precedent.

We now inhabit a society and world with deepening divides. Influence and wealth are more concentrated than in modern history. This creates conditions for the powerful to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they feel omnipotent.

The wealth of a handful of billionaires is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of global industrial giants extends over a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is poised to centralize wealth and power even more. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in recorded history.

Empowered by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the presidency has been made into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of state power in history.

Combine these factors and you grasp the threat.

An unbroken thread links previous transgressions to present-day provocations. These were based on the hubris of absolute power.

You see a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in military conflicts, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by industrial titans.

But, strength without restraint does not create right. It fosters instability, upheaval, and war.

History shows that frameworks designed to limit the influential also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for greater influence and riches in time lead to their downfall – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk international catastrophe.

This kind of contempt for legal order will plague the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilization – for years to come.