You still very much are a conspiracy theorist and maintain an inaccurate view of the facts. I don't see how that's a basis to then say you just hope people can "come together". But what exactly does "coming together" mean to you? What is it that you think needs to happen?
The "flatten the curve" thing was just weeks into the pandemic, which was a novel virus sweeping across the globe with substantial lethality - presenting a situation that was unique to itself, there was no playbook for this. But here's the thing: in most places, the early mitigation measures ("shut down") failed to contain the virus, so they were removed. And other mitigation measures, such as mask mandates, remained in many places but it clearly followed the state of the outbreak. You cite New Orleans but isn't it true that the indoor mask mandate was removed when the situation improved and community spread was reduced to very low numbers? Isn't it true that it only came back in December when a new variant was presenting dramatic jumps in community spread? Isn't Mardi Gras happening in 2022? This is not a history of things getting "tighter and tighter" - that's just false.
You're right that what drove the new round of mitigation in late 2021 in many places (not all, by the way) was a new variant that spread like wildfire. But there's already a history of mitigation measures going away when community spread goes down, and we can expect that will happen again. In many places, Omicron did not result in new measures. Many cities and states did not impose new mitigation. Many businesses did not start requiring masks again. How does that fit your presentation?
You didn't answer my question about variants being a natural product of viral evolution, so I still don't understand your angle on variants. If a new variant emerges (they will, it's part of the viral evolution) that causes dramatic new community spread and again packs the hospitals, is your view that we should "come together" and no nothing in response to them? Again, many places indeed did nothing new for Omicron and that might be where we're headed. But response intended to suppress community spread and resulting stress on the healthcare system and other systems are not conspiracies, they're efforts by human beings (who are fallible) to respond to important factors and metrics in their jurisdictions. The fact that there is so much variation in how these things are done in different localities should demonstrate that the "trying to control us" conspiracy is silly.