The future

 The future of the US can be seen in duelling legalities.  A few years ago it was sanctuary cities and the denial of immigration enforcement. The worry was, what will the equivalent action on the right look like?  It was always assumed that these reactions would involve 2nd ammendment issues.  This has always been the point over which I thought left authoririans would over reach and would produce a "Fort Sumter" moment.

You also had the somewhat far fetched worry about NY law enforcement trying to arrest the President over some baloney charge and wondering what the secret service would do. That may have come close a couple of times when Trump visited Michigan and didn't follow their mask laws.  I suspect right now Whitmer wouldn't worry about the fall out or broken norms anymore (see my criminalization of identity post).

Now here is a very concrete example of what happened just before the civil war.  One side criminalized the other for their "legal actions". The tension was typically viewed as states rights vs. federal rights, but that level of simplicity has always been too flat for me.  There were also layers of political party fighting. And that is just what we see with a county who has chosen to arrest Feds who try to enforce constitutionally questionable 2nd A edicts.

https://www.thenationalsentinel.com/2021/02/10/missouri-county-passes-ordinance-calling-for-arrest-of-feds-who-enforce-unconstitutional-gun-laws-this-is-how-you-do-it/

Of course, once the supreme courts rules on the issue, it should be over. But, I doubt stirred-up counties will quit arresting people while the appeal process is pending.  Can you imagine leftist political zealots halting law enforcement action over something they feel is morally right just because the case has yet to be fully decided at the highest court levels?  I certainly can't.  And hence, you almost guarantee evolution into war by competing law enforcement agencies.  That is why Biden's move to clean house is so smart. It's also why historic authoritarians did the same. Allowing doubt sews the seeds of dissension and sets up narratives which motivated reasoners can use to justify legitimacy claims.  (Think of old battles over who was the correct heir to the kingdom).