ScienceCommunicator on Nostr: Well, everything was working fine until one of the "cogs" in the machine broke a ...

Well, everything was working fine until one of the "cogs" in the machine broke a tooth. That broken tooth damaged the next cog, & so on a so fourth.

This is a metaphor. That first damaged "cog", was a sociopath, that harmed the next "cog".

Care & honesty, the two are not mutually exclusive, is the oil & mechanics that prevents the "machine" from breaking down

That "machine" is civilisation