If the system fails, however, the damage will be quiet but corrosive. It will not result in sudden collapse, but in a private understanding that laws are for some, not all. This realization breeds cynicism that can hollow a society from within. When citizens see one law for the powerful and another for the powerless, the social contract collapses, and the law becomes a source of resentment instead of order. Such a “silent failure” leaves a legacy of rot, signaling that power alone dictates outcomes and equality is merely a tool for elites.
As the courts navigate these cases, the world watches with hope and trepidation. The United States has long been presented as a “City upon a Hill,” a model of democracy. If that beacon falters under the influence of one individual, the implications are global. Autocrats will see that even the strongest democracies can be undermined from within. Defending the rule of law in Washington is therefore a defense of democracy worldwide. Continue reading…
