The sound you heard was windows being smashed at the East Wing.

The sound you did not hear was questions from officials paid to monitor what happens to a National Heritage Site. The White House is owned by the American people, not any current inhabitant. It's true that other presidents have made changes to the beloved building, but none before Donald Trump amputated an entire limb.

The "Broken Windows" theory holds that visible disorder — graffiti, public urination and shattered windows — are signs of social decay that invite worse crimes. Starting in the 1980s, the New York Police Department began cracking down on these low-level crimes. Broken Windows policing gets credit for much of the sharp drop in crime that followed.

This theory should be applied not only to street thugs but also to powerful people who continually show contempt for laws. In the case of the president, that job rests mainly with the House.

"Broken Windows" has become both a literal and figurative concern in the Trump era. And the sudden destruction of windows at the White House wasn't the most horrifying case of glass actually being vandalized at Trump's prompting.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump sent rioters to the Capitol to stop the counting of votes for president. Some publicly urinated: One bragged online that he "pissed" in then-speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. This was in service to an insurrection led by the loser of the 2020 election. The French term is attempted coup d'etat.

During Trump's 2016 campaign for president, congressional Republicans promised the public that they would act as a check on an erratic Trump. On the contrary, they passively submit to even shocking behavior.

The power to set tariffs, outside of national emergencies, lies with Congress. As Trump romps through his trade war, the Republican leadership has rolled over like a cocker spaniel. Objections to Trump's insults against allies are almost nonexistent.

We get that politicians might at times cut ethical corners when their jobs are at stake. But there must be a moral core. Despite his claim to deep faith, House Speaker Mike Johnson seems to have misplaced his conscience.

Adelita Grijalva won a special election in Arizona. The Democrat was certified over a month ago, but Johnson has refused to seat her. A speaker cannot, whether for partisan or other unconnected reasons, refuse to swear in a member who's been duly elected.

Tear away the phony excuses, but his goal is to stop a vote in Congress that would release the Epstein files. Trump's orders. The president clearly fears what's in this record of sexual abuse of girls, some of junior high age. Johnson shows no shame in abdicating both his responsibility to his country and to the victims of the predator.

Over where the East Wing used to be, Trump is building a ballroom with the money of corporate donors who undoubtedly want things in exchange. If a president offers or provides government benefits (contracts, deregulation, etc.) in exchange for donations, that's bribery. Bribery is a federal crime.

A master of mob talk, Trump flaunts his offenses in come-and-get-me style. He just pardoned crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, sentenced to four months in prison for Binance's failure to comply with anti-money-laundering laws. Terrorists and hackers used Binance's platform to move billions of dollars.

But Binance furthered the fortunes of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform that furthered the fortunes of Trump family members. Concerns over possible pay-to-play deals used to create controversies lasting months. Now they're replaced seemingly hour-by-hour with new ones.

Has Trump so anesthetized us to rule-breaking that we now shrug at it? When a society tolerates broken windows, more serious things get broken.

Follow Froma Harrop on X @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at [email protected]. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Maria Oswalt at Unsplash