It's not a question of what people "mind" or "don't mind", it's a question of what level of risk people will accept in order to live a normal life. Hiding away from people may reduce risk in a lot of ways, but most people find it unacceptable.

Before COVID, I was under the impression that most Americans found "Give me liberty or give me death" an admirable sentiment. But it turns out that I was mistaken about that.

> Before COVID, I was under the impression that most Americans found "Give me liberty or give me death" an admirable sentiment.

Are you under the impression that you were experiencing pure liberty before COVID? Because it's pretty obvious to me that there was an acceptable level of restraints that society generally agreed to, and those levels changed due to the pandemic. It's a fun saying, but it's in no way, shape, or form realistic.

Are you suggesting that since we didn't have full liberty before the pandemic we should be ok with less liberty during the pandemic and into the future? Because by accepting these measures now I can guarantee they'll become the new norm just like the changes after 9/11.

> Because by accepting these measures now I can guarantee they'll become the new norm just like the changes after 9/11.

What measures are you referring to with this? Masks clearly aren't going to stay around, and there's a push to reopen everything and get life back to normal as soon as possible.

> Before COVID, I was under the impression that most Americans found "Give me liberty or give me death" an admirable sentiment. But it turns out that I was mistaken about that.

America is country with most strict safety standards in pretty much anything I ever heard of. Including kids playground structures.

50 years ago was 1970. I agree that just comparing last year's death rate directly to rates from the past 50 years would be a bad analysis, but I think this is some hyperbole too.