They won't listen until they start dying.

When we got the first lockdown order, my wife said to me, "Things are never going to be the same again." I didn't believe her. I figures, in a week or two, people will get tired of this nonsense and go back to their normal lives. But she was right, and I was wrong. I walk around without a mask, and I see only a handful of men in the stores and public places without a mask. No women, only a few men. Women seem to love being controlled and told what to do. So do most men these days. As far as I can tell, the majority of the population will keep wearing the masks until told to stop.

Flatten the curve = make people understand the world is not a ball, but is in fact flat.