Once someone has spent enough time cultivating bad habits and biding their time, they are much diminished. Much of what they could have been has dissipated.
I happen to be a big fan of Western civilization; I think it beats the hell out of tyranny and starvation.
Assuming if there's such a thing as reality, if you have a false relationship with it, how can you do anything but fail?
If you don't stand your ground, then all that happens is people push you backwards.
A properly balanced story provides an equal representation of the negative and positive attributes of, I could say the world, but it's actually a being. 'Harry Potter''s a good example. So Harry's the hero, right. But he's tainted with evil. There's a dark and a light in every bit of that narrative. It's well balanced.
I've done some analysis of the biblical stories as part of my psychological work. I knew that I had more to do, and every time I've done it, it's been extremely valuable. It makes me a better teacher because I have a richer understanding of cultural history.