More often than not, our principles are more aspirational than manifest in our behavior. That does not mean hypocrisy, so long as we continue to believe in and affirm those principles. Continuing to affirm the principles, even while we may falter in adhering to them, still secures them as guides for us to judge our behavior and enables us to identify our shortcomings. This is the importance of principles. When a principle ceases to be affirmed, its violation becomes acceptable and normal.
Two of the most important principles which American society always affirmed in the legal realm was the presumption of innocence for anyone accused of a crime and the equality of all people before the law. Obviously, neither of these principles was ever applied in reality on a consistent basis; but the principles were always aspirationally affirmed. That is no longer the case. The principles themselves have been explicitly discarded. That is a significant change in the culture, with far-reaching ramifications.
The accusation of terrorism is now treated according to the principle of a presumption of guilt, and equality before the law has been absndoned in favor of the principle “too big to fail” which can be read “too big to prosecute”.
The fascist totalitarian character of America, under the domination of corporate power, has expanded from practice to principle and fundamentally changed the nature of the society.