Now we know, that was all an illusion.
The state governors can rule us by "executive order", as emperors and tyrants. The President sends tweets, but nothing puts a stop to the state tyranny.
When our rights are violated by the states, the Federal government does nothing. Oh, Barr threatens that he is "watching" events, along with army of "investigators", but nothing is ever done. Mayors and governors can violate our rights at will, and even conservatives scream that the Federal government "shouldn't get involved."
The Constitution has no bearing on any of this. When taken to the courts, they rule that our First Amendment rights have no meaning. Governors can outlaw church services, and even singing (as Newsom just "declared"), and we are powerless to do anything. Abortion mills, weed shops, and liquor stores have more rights than church congregations and pastors.
We can be bullied and order to wear muzzle masks by the states, and no one from the Federal government puts a stop to it, or even formally objects.
Our children are tormented, along with those with medical conditions, and no one comes to our aid. Workers who desperately need a paycheck are forced to wear the slave mask for 8, 10, or even 12 hours a day, and those who declare it all bunk are thrown off social media, or fired from their jobs.
We will in the "New Normal", and the powers that be will never give us back our freedoms. We will all be forced to comply with the next demand, and then the next.
Our current condition of virtual enslavement took only a matter of weeks and months. In a couple of years, we will most likely look back at today's status quo as the "good old days", because the path we are on signals that things will get progressively worse.