In the west, particularly rooted in discussions around Roman virtue, but also I think somewhere in Kongzi as well, is the idea that virtue needs to be made public, and we need to make sure it is acted out, not in a fake way, but in the sense of embodying some role of being a virtuous person. I think part of the anxiety of the contemporary day about being canceled, etc., is that the common person, which includes many people, even famous people, do not live virtuous lives.
No one would seem to question Kongzi's commitment to ritual, he made it such a point to embody it in the smallest of details with plenty of people to see.
Contemporary man is like an empty jar, other people can pour some red in it, and it looks red. Kongzi was a jar filled with a deep deep black, even if a bunch of people put a little red in it, it wouldn't affect how it looks. even if a bunch of people put a little red in it, it wouldn't affect how it looks.