ferryman

The boatman:
Anyone who ponders people's words and actions will almost certainly reach the conclusion that they say one thing and do the exact opposite. You will find them praising the philosophy of a certain thinker and the depth of his ideas, but they do not follow his programs or read his publications. On the other hand, they criticize the lifestyle of a certain artist and the superficiality of her ideas. But at the same time, they follow all of her work and do not miss a single episode.
Personally, I am not surprised by this contradiction, for a fundamental reason: it is an integral part of human nature in all places and times. The words I am writing now were preceded by the great sociologist Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun six centuries ago, and perhaps many scholars before and after him. Therefore, we must accept that the inherent natures of humans do not change radically, but rather develop and improve if they find something that helps them develop and improve.
It often happens that human nature remains as it is, stagnating, if it does not find the intellectual and moral nourishment that will elevate it to the top. It also happens that it relapses and becomes savage and goes back many years if the nourishment is negative, and the state is worse than before.
Consider the state of the societies around us. Some have a better present than their past, and others have a better past than their present. The whole reason is due to the nature of the intellectual and moral nourishment to which their individuals were exposed.