How exactly is it "ego and freedom"? If you closed the US down entirely (i.e. no "essential workers" such as emergency services or doctors), the death toll would be millions or more. Everyone can't self-isolate, we have to have essential services, and then you rapidly realize just how interconnected the economy. You might so "ok, only doctors can work", but doctors need support staff and supplies. Those supplies come from warehouses full of warehouse workers, and are delivered by truck drivers. Those trucks need to be maintained by mechanics, who need replacement supplies from the hardware supply chains. The drugs they make are manufactured and tested in labs all over the US. Those labs have their own supply chain needs. It just keeps going until you need 100,000,000 people working, to support the original 1,000,000 you called essential.