And the idea that lockdowns are authoritarian is laughable
If placing entire countries or states on house arrest isn't authoritarian, what is?
That....didn't happen? 
It's actually amazing that people on different sides of the aisle live in completely alternative realities. I can't even grasp at this take. Like.... were you watching the news the past 18 months? It wasn't so bad in America outside places like New York City but there were many countries that did completely shut down (Spain, France, UK, Australia, etc)
Indeed, except we're in reality and you're the one with the alternative reality. Sean Spicer might blush at the alternative facts you're trying to peddle now. In the USA the shelter-in-place orders were not enforced at all. Where were the police patrolling the streets telling people to go home? Oh right, this didn't happen whatsoever anywhere. Businesses were shut down, yes, but in many states a substantial fraction of businesses were able to be classified as essential businesses and continue to run.
In any case, the shelter-in-place orders and business shutdowns all ended by July 2020. So for the last year, while the pandemic continued to rage out of control, there has been no shutdown anywhere in the USA. You're truly blind and delusional if you think that some capacity restrictions and mask mandates could be called "placing entire countries or states on house arrest".
