Oceans rise. Empires fall.
You also realize that things like the rule of law and peace are not the natural human condition.
What could be more natural, if you have power, than to use it to protect yourself and your friends, and to go after your enemies?
As with so many things, much harder to build up than to tear down.
This is so even despite the huge ways in which we failed to live up to our ideals.
One of the things I found shattering about Trump's election was that he was so clueless and incurious that he was bound to make many such mistakes.
To me, the rule of law is the precondition for almost every good thing in a society. As I said earlier, it's not natural to us, and it must be maintained.
And it is small, compared to the sacrifice made by people who fought to gain liberty.
Apparently, to some of the GOP Senators, that's a sacrifice they're not willing to make.
(Note: "some" bc I suppose some genuinely buy T's argument.)
I do think that the rule of law is almost infinitely precious, that we need to maintain and strengthen it, and that a moajority of our political leaders are willing to throw it away.
Again: read history.