COVID was a minor speed bump, in the grand scheme of things. I’m not playing it down in a “it’s just the flu” Trump kind of way, but it was no worse than the Spanish flu or many past pandemics. It didn’t even cause a recession really, most of the economic issues we have at the moment are self inflicted.

We’re just not used to dealing with a disease like this. It was a serious problem, but the idea that it was any kind of existential threat is absurdly hyperbolic.

The Spanish flu was similarly dangerous and virulent, it’s impact was vastly greater, yet for most people it’s a forgotten historical footnote.