Peaceful protest has always been ineffectual. It doesn't work, anywhere.
What actually works is people wising up and affecting change. They have to actually do something. Which, in itself, implies conflict.
On that note, however, we're to a point where the only majority opinion is the status quo. Sure - there are a lot of people who are dissatisfied with the current system - but there's no coherent movement to a more functional system. 10% want this. 5% want that. 15% want something else. Lay these out over 10 different major issues affecting our society - and you have overlaps of 2% here and 3% there. There's no consistent 'plan' to get behind.
Except the 'status quo' and short-sighted attempts to improve it.
At the end of the day - people are dysfunctionally practical. They'll accept short-term profits if the long-term detriment is not obvious and/or ambiguous. They'll wander past life-boats on a slowly sinking ship and just inch away from the rising water until they are killing each other over what little deck is left to stand on.
If the effort for a 'better' system is less convenient than simply adjusting the status quo, they'll adjust the status quo almost every single time. People "make do" rather than "make new."
So, what will happen is people will ride this system until there is fleetingly little left to stand on. At that point, the different interests will begin fighting amongst each other for short-sighted objectives. You might get a unified effort against the current system - since it will become painfully obvious that it won't work... but the problem with revolutions is not toppling the existing regime.
I could topple the federal government with 50 dedicated people. Destruction is a simple task.
It's the end-game - the "now what" after you've destroyed something is the difficult part. People who supported you because you resisted the establishment now no longer support half of your proposals for where to go. You united behind one goal - but that goal has been accomplished and the union falls apart as quickly as it formed.
A revolution in this country would turn into a twenty year long Battle-Royal.
It isn't even an issue of states, anymore. It's an issue of lifestyles. Urban areas are always passing laws/regulations that interfere with the lives of rural regions. Welfare babies are voting to support their own welfare babies. - There are too many competing interests within centralized governmental structures (even the states are becoming too large/diverse for the power often granted to their legislatures).
Once violence erupts - it's going to propagate through each major rift in politics.
And don't think it will be isolated to this nation. Some of the ideological conflicts will spread to other nations. Most/all nations will also suffer huge economic hits that will spike unemployment and see a collapse of supply chains.
It will be even more impressive than the fall of Rome.
It will be our duty to preserve history and knowledge of technology so that, once the flames die down and the ash settles, a rekindling can be done by our great grandchildren, starting over from much of the knowledge we left behind.
