Pulling the loose thread unravels the whole garment
When you foment disrespect and antagonism toward authority, you do not only undermine the "illegitimate" use of authority. You undermine respect toward all authority.
One of the things that Christians today need to understand is that all authority flows from God. (See Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13-17.) We live in a hierarchical universe and God has established authorities in the home, the church and the civil authority. By obeying these authorities, we obey God. These three spheres have some overlapping responsibilities, but they also have areas where their authority is exclusive. The ultimate authority is God, and any "disobedience" to the authority He has placed over us is actually obedience to a higher authority.
Should we recognize a truth? It is very difficult to be respectful of the civil authority, especially over the last five years. COVID-19 has been a leading reason for this. "Experts" have told college students to wear a mask during sex and government agencies have told their employees to wear masks during at-home video conferencing calls. There is a reason that Christians today, especially conservative Christians, have an antagonistic view of the government. This is why the civil authorities must avoid beclowning themselves, out of respect for their own office.
But what we need to understand is that when you foment disrespect and antagonism toward authority, you do not only undermine the "illegitimate" use of authority. You undermine respect toward all authority. Men who are contumacious toward the government are laying the foundation for disrespect of their own authority over their children, and church leaders who are contumacious toward the government are giving their congregations a template to use to reject the church’s authority on critical matters of worship. Eventually, we become like the nation of Israel in the book of Judges, where every man does that which is right in his own eyes. This leads to libertinism or even anarchy.
None of this means that we cannot speak out on matters of public concern, that we should not stand for justice, or that we should not assert our rights as the Apostle Paul asserted his rights as a citizen of the Roman Empire. None of this means we should not seek to see good candidates elected and bad candidates defeated. This does not even mean we cannot disobey unlawful or sinful orders. But we should always do so with respect for the God who created all authority, recognizing our position as men and women under authority: Our Father's authority first, and then those to whom He has delegated authority.