The growing distrust of authority and institutions is something that really worries me. That is what keeps the fabric of society together and I am not sure what comes after the collapse of previously trusted institutions.
Latin America, in general, is a good example of a lack of trust in institutions. A lot of energy is spent working around them to do everything and it permeates society itself, as you can't trust anyone, you have to expect everyone is trying to scam you all the time as you have non recourse if they actually are.
It means that there are regions where the government can't project authority.
Ukraine before the Russian invasion was a perfect example. You could walk around Kiev without a care in the world, 500km to the east you had death squads trying to suppress an honest to god soviet insurgency.
Wasn't the Maidan Revolution in 2014 also an "insurgency" against the government right in the center of Kiev?
Institutions and authority figures come and go, often deservedly. But a people without a care for their community and its well-being will be in no position to put new and better institutions in their place, or to have a quality life generally.
Just because the CDC suppressed scientists who didn't agree with it's dogma on mRNA treatments doesn't mean we should start feeding babies lead again.
It would be wise for American elites to focus on fixing the causes of unrest, but instead they use corporate media to blame the people for their distrust of the establishment.
Interestingly, the same corporate media pushed the narrative that the George Floyd riots were about police brutality. This is only true in a facile sense, the video was the catalyst. The major causes were intense psychological stress from unprecedented lockdowns, economic implosion, and incessant fear of the virus. In a form of ideological judo they redirected all the anger and angst that had been building up towards a scapegoat. A classic trick rulers use on the ruled.