Living in Melbourne during the lockdowns, one of the most striking things I noticed was how they destroyed all sense of community and turned neighbours against one another. Everyone became a potential vector for transmission. It was utterly poisonous and a lot of people have internalized that now. Being one of the dissenters from the very beginning, I have to admit I still carry a lot of anger around with me, too.
You're completely right, of course, in what you say - I just don't know how we get there from here.