If I missed the point, it wouldn't be the first time ;-). Sort of a hobby of mine.

The demands of governments here in the US were pretty extreme, more so than I would have thought possible. What I witnessed was not just submission, but militant submission. The lock downs may not have been quite as extreme as Australia, but it was far more than I'd have predicted could be had if you'd asked me before 2020. I thought that there was limits even to Party Loyalty here in the US. I was (again) mistaken. If we're not as extremely subject as Australians yet, then, I now think the key word there is "yet". Sadly. 2020-22 has reset "the amount of tyranny the could ever realistically enforce" from where I sit, to a much higher level than what I thought was realistic 2.5 years ago. I hope I am wrong about that, but I'm not.

The "solution" it seems no matter what the problem is always the same: blame liberty, individualism, and assert that individual liberty is counter to the common good and must be eliminated. Again, in the wake of another tragedy, we're seeing the same, same, same litany. Instead of real solutions. As noted many times on this forum, there was no science behind lock downs, and much evidence now of the harm done. Yet still I am astonished by the number of people who continue to insist that it was all essential.

And that is the real scary part: the mass of submission based on fallacies, driven by misplaced faith and loyalty to a political position. Not only did it happen, we can be assured it will happen again. That is really scary!

Millions of Americans don't need to be physically disarmed to be controlled. They have already been mentally disarmed. Far more effective. Without the will to react, well, thar's yur problem!