> COVID matters as we generally agree that during public health crisises it is reasonable for the government to overstep bounds a little to reduce loss of life.

Don't agree at all. Especially when the very same public health "experts" proved themselves entirely incompetent fools who don't understand their own data.

What these "experts" did was absolutely insane. It blows my mind so many people went along with it with nary a hint of intellectual curiosity and still to this day defend it.