I think we are slowly coming to the consensus (as a society) that security is preferable to freedom because it maximizes harm reduction (harm reduction being the ultimate metric by which to measure the value of something).

I don't agree at all, but the way our government is, it's a one way ratchet to get new laws passed. Speech laws only get stricter (one inch at a time) over the years, never looser. Gun laws only get stricter (one inch at a time) over the years, never looser. Intellectual property laws only get stricter (one inch at a time) over the years, never looser.

Lives are saved every time the ratchet torques an inch of freedom into security, so I guess that's the upside. I just worry that life won't be as fulfilling when we are perfectly secure.

We are in the middle of a pandemic that the US has been singularly unable/unwilling among the world's developed countries to apply the necessary measures to solve, and still you argue that the real problem is too much harm reduction...

I'm sure enjoying my fulfilling free life as I make plans to sit alone in my apartment for another entire year because I live in the land of freedom, where people can dine in indoor restaurants without a mask.

Are you saying you'd rather live in a country where the police will chokeslam you if you are caught not properly wearing a mask outside of your house[0]?

If yes => you prefer security over freedom. And that's okay.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC7JnT3JaQk

The Disney Copyright term actually ended