You and I clearly have different views on this. My part-time work was deemed "essential", so I got out a bit more than most people did. At least where I live...
- Traffic remained high until the shelter-in-place orders went into effect, then it dropped to practically nothing, but it's right back to normal again now that restrictions are easing.

- Outside of food prep, I saw almost no one wearing masks until just a few weeks ago, at which point a slim majority of people were finally wearing them, but now that restrictions are being eased, mask wearing is already way, way down. Only around 1/4 of the people I saw at the grocery store a few days ago were wearing them, and that's even including the employees who were supposedly required to wear them.

- Outdoor seating at bars and restaurants didn't stop being packed until they were ordered to stop, but now that restrictions have eased those places are packed again when I drive by.

The vast, vast majority of the people I've seen have not been demonstrating care other than when they have been required to, and even then, only marginally so. I know the situation is different in other parts of the country, and I don't mean to suggest that my experience is indicative of the US as a whole, but at least here, a mandatory lockdown was absolutely necessary if you wanted to make a dent in the spread of this disease. People are definitely not engaging in best practices when left to themselves.