Donald Trump's Policies Constitute a Threat to Civilization.
His domestic and foreign policies – from the challenge to the democratic process previously to recent incursions and statements – undermine both national and global law. But that’s not all.
They threaten the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.
The moral purpose of a functioning society is to stop the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Otherwise, we risk being permanently immersed in a brutish war where survival of the strongest could survive.
This concept is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the core of the postwar international order championed by the United States, built on international cooperation, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority.
Yet, it is a vulnerable construct, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their authority. Preserving it demands that the powerful have the moral fortitude to refrain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society hold them accountable when they fail.
Unchecked strength does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and conflict.
Each instance entities that are richer and more powerful attack and exploit those that are weaker, the fabric of society unravels. If these actions are not contained, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. It has happened before.
Our current reality is a global community with deepening divides. Authority and resources are more concentrated than ever before. This invites the elite to leverage their position against the weaker because they act with a sense of untouchable.
The fortunes of certain tycoons is difficult to fathom. The reach of global industrial giants spans much of the globe. Advanced technology is could further concentrate wealth and power to a greater degree. The military might of the major powers is unprecedented in recorded history.
Supported by a compliant faction and a sympathetic high court, the presidency has been transformed into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of government in recent memory.
Consider this confluence and you see the looming crisis.
A clear connection links earlier lawless actions to present-day provocations. These were based on the hubris of invincibility.
You see much the same in international affairs: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.
But, strength without restraint does not make right. It produces fragility, upended order, and bloodshed.
History shows that frameworks designed to check the influential also shield them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources in time bring them down – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for global conflict.
This blatant disregard for rules will haunt the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.
