It was a failed civilization

The first thing any life form is focused on is survival.
The same should be true of any civilization they create. It should sustain their survival.

But that's not what I've seen in my decades on this planet.

I've seen society after society that fully adhere to the principle of hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

When an authority with bad intentions comes along, they duck and cover, feeding that "authority" their enemies, then their neighbors, then their families...until there is no one left but themselves to feed to it.

And they call that methodology "how we survive."
They do this without realizing it's how they die. They are feeding their enemy until it is strong enough to eat them.

It's nothing but perpetual self and community deceiving efforts and prolonging the inevitable while doing everything to assure that the "inevitable" will happen.

And then they wonder how the present situation came about.
And they seriously wonder.

And their response is to continue to self-deceive, to continue to promote self-deception in the community, and to continue to feed the living into the fire until it's big enough to consume us all.

It is what it is.

A failed civilization.

And the result is the inevitable result of a civilization that prioritizes deceit and apathy over survival.

The ceasing of survival.