I think it is important to look at empirical data rather than base our beliefs on narratives that, while popular, may not necessarily have substantiating evidence. Sweden performed a useful role during the period 2020 - 2023 by providing a control against which experiments such as masking, social distancing, and lockdowns can be measured. As I wrote here in an article on Medium recently, the results of such a comparison are revealing. First, the peaks & troughs seem independent of lockdowns, occurring in a strong lockdown nation (the UK) in the same periodicity as non-lockdown Sweden (other nations likewise show the same periodicity). So it is reasonable to doubt whether lockdowns were in fact worth the horrific economic, social, and psychological costs. Next comes the question of masking, and once again Sweden provided the control in this unintentional experiment. Again, we see little evidence for efficacy. This is not exactly surprising when we consider that masking was not very effective outside of spurious "studies" that were judged meaningless by Stanford Medical Center or, at best (when not designed so badly as to be worthless) statistically insignificant. And finally we can turn to deaths as a percentage of population. We find that Sweden isn't even in the top ten countries for covid deaths despite having implemented zero counter-measures. This tells us that while SARS-CoV2 was a great deal more serious than seasonal flu, it was by no means the threat the mass media presented it as. Now that the virus has - like most viral infections transmitted via the air - reduced significantly in lethality, we shouldn't be overly concerned about mask bans regardless of their foolish provenance.

That said, we also know from countless studies that once a person believes something, no amount of empirical evidence can persuade them otherwise. Instead, they will double-down on their belief in order to avoid cognitive dissonance. Thus people will continue to believe covid was an existential threat and only mask wearing, social distancing, and lockdowns "saved humanity." It may be forty years before a more adequate perspective is possible.