On the third try, we finally took an Iceland cruise. The island lies closer to Europe, so we had several fellow passengers from the British Isles and the continent. Brits, especially, always are eager to talk. While we in the U.S. have increasing doubts about our institutions, Brits have similar concerns. The response to the covid pandemic is primarily to blame. The question on both sides of the pond was a complete shutdown necessary.

Readers know where I’ve stood on this issue since the series on Covid started in March of 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially favored an approach akin to Sweden’s; protect the at risk as much as possible but maintain everyday life. The dire predictions by the Imperial College echoed by the government’s medical establishment panicked Johnson into a reversal.

The same thing happened to Donald Trump. The funding of massive disruptions with vast public expenditure undertaken by both governments. Now we are evaluating the lost years due to our institutional actions. Did we follow the data? Were there better alternatives? It’s good to know we aren’t alone in our inquiry.

The astonishing reports on our loss in life expectancy and our children’s education greeted us on our return. No longer can we ignore the poor path our government elites lead us down. Indeed, a soul-searching dive into the many agreeing on courses of action with disastrous results is mandatory.

Instead, we see the same elites claiming we didn’t know what to do. Only later did we realize schools presented little Covid danger, and older vulnerable are more likely to die. Now we know we protect the at risk and go about our business. The latest CDC advisory is the opposite of the lockdown strategy. Has Covid gone away? It’s spreading, but nobody except China wants to repeat the lockdown foolishness.