There was a time when the United States projected itself as a country governed by institutions rather than impulses. Federal agencies, though imperfect, generally operated within legal mandates, institutional traditions, and publicly accountable frameworks. Today, that foundation appears dangerously eroded. Core federal institutions no longer seem committed to fulfilling their lawful responsibilities, nor to respecting the norms that once restrained power. The result is a deepening crisis of governance, accountability, and human dignity.

This breakdown would be alarming under any circumstances. It becomes catastrophic when it affects institutions whose very purpose is to protect public welfare and uphold the rule of law. Agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services are not peripheral arms of government; they are central to the functioning of a lawful, humane state. When these bodies abandon their missions, the damage extends far beyond bureaucratic failure—it strikes at the moral legitimacy of government itself.

Nowhere is this institutional decay more evident than in federal law enforcement. Historically, tensions have existed between federal authorities and the communities they police. Yet those tensions were at least mediated by legal standards, internal oversight, and inter-agency accountability. That architecture is now collapsing.

The killing of Renée Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of three, by a federal immigration agent stands as a chilling symbol of this collapse. In earlier eras, such a death would have triggered a transparent investigation involving federal, state, and local authorities. Instead, the Department of Justice shut out local participation and quickly declared that there was no wrongdoing by the agent—shifting blame onto the victim’s associates without meaningful inquiry.

Even more troubling was the political response. Senior officials—including the President, Vice President, and Secretary of Homeland Security—publicly absolved the agent almost immediately, undermining any pretense of impartial justice. The Justice Department then formally declined to pursue a criminal investigation, despite its obligation to determine whether federal force was lawfully applied. This was not justice delayed; it was justice dismissed.

Such actions signal a profound abandonment of the rule of law. Rather than calming communities, acknowledging concern, or reinforcing trust, federal authorities have chosen intimidation and force. Armed, masked agents have become instruments of fear rather than guardians of legality. In this environment, law enforcement power is no longer constrained by accountability—it is shielded by political loyalty.

This domestic unraveling has consequences beyond America’s borders. A nation that disregards legal restraint at home rarely respects it abroad. The same arrogance that excuses violence against citizens enables reckless foreign interventions. The recent armed incursion involving Venezuela illustrates this dangerous continuity.

Whatever one’s view of Venezuela’s leadership, it is sheer hubris to believe that military pressure or covert aggression will deliver freedom. History repeatedly shows that such interventions serve corporate interests, arms dealers, and mercenary networks far more than the people they claim to liberate. They destabilize regions, destroy civilian lives, and deepen long-term suffering.

America’s global posture has long been wrapped in moral language while producing immense human cost. For many across the world, “Made in America” does not signify democracy—it signifies drones, bullets, and sanctions. When domestic killings provoke indifference rather than outrage, international violence becomes easier to justify.

The connection between domestic justice and international conduct is simple yet profound: shared humanity. Renée Good’s life is inseparable in moral value from the lives lost in Caracas, Gaza, or any other conflict zone touched by lawless power. A state that fails to mourn unjust death at home cannot convincingly defend human rights abroad.

The erosion of institutions is not merely a political failure; it is a moral one. When legality gives way to personality, and accountability to loyalty, governance becomes cruelty dressed as authority. Reversing this course requires more than elections or rhetoric. It demands a renewed institutional commitment to law, restraint, and human dignity—both within national borders and beyond them.

Until that happens, the promise of justice will remain hollow, and the cost will continue to be measured in lives quietly discarded.