So many people in so many ways both large and small simply go through the motions in life, of pretty much following the herd or the convention of the times and their milieu. Yet, even those that are outside such don't necessarily behave in that particular manner because they have had some sort of epiphany, but do so often as an expression of individuality or to step away from what is orthodox to embrace, for a time, or for a while, something which is unorthodox.
We live within a time in which never has it been easier to discover knowledge, and to thereby take that knowledge so as to improve one's own life, as well as to benefit mankind, in general. However, as has been proven time and time again, most people are not cognizant enough of all that they have and is available to them, until such is taken away, or about to be forfeited, of which at that time, when the light is nearly extinguished, they finally recognized all the knowledge and freedom that was theirs for the taking, but hitherto been virtually never drawn upon.
Each person that has taken on the mantle of adulthood, has an innate duty to their own self, as well as to society at large, to take account of themselves, and to make it their point to understand and to comprehend, who and what they are, along with the very meaning of life, itself. For far too many people, don't wish to examine their own self, or anyone else or any institutions for that matter, and simply accept whatever that it is, without ever proper questioning it or thinking deeply upon such.
While there are many that preach of the merits of freedom, free will, liberty, and choice, how few ever seem to embrace these concepts and ideals as being of the highest merit and thereby worthy of our highest respect, by actually leading lives that recognize that very principle. That is to say, a vibrant and engaged public, that makes it their point to challenge conventional thinking, is the type of public that will improve societies, because it does not accept, without good reason, all that has come before, but rather desires to drill down much deeper, in order to bring forth knowledge from a greater depth, and thereby the corresponding good benefits for the society that they are good members of.
In other words, the fundamental problem that societies still have today has a lot more to do, with mankind failing to creatively and successively work upon the very fundamentals as to what is required to bring forth civil societies that are cohesive and beneficial for that society, as opposed to believing that our collective failure to date, simply comes down to material aspects that have not been fully realized. This thus means, that each one of us, has an innate responsibility to not only become knowledgeable of those things that are of importance and of real meaning in order to improve and to stabilize good societies, but also that we must, each one of us, make that conscious choice, daily, to do our part to utilize our knowledge to thereby make our habitat, better.