The Mouldy Coat

Imagine that you are the owner of a very old, very musty coat. Imagine that this coat is, in fact two thousand years old. When it was new it turned heads and seemed to be making a statement, compelling envy in some and admiration in others. As the years passed the coat was redesigned from time to time; bits of it removed whilst other bits, bits not part of the original design were added. Those updating it had come together and decided that these upgrades were necessary amendments, enabling the coat to remain fashionable and capable of attracting attention. As the years passed, the coat was changed and upgraded some more. During some periods of its history it was soaked in the blood of those who didn't agree with the design, or had their own ideas on how the coat should look. All the friction began to take its toll, and it's appearance became less alluring, less capable of turning heads.
A couple of hundred years ago people started being attracted to a different type of coat, due largely to some brilliant designers who were positively brimming with good ideas about how to create a garment capable of withstanding the elements. These enlightenment coats became all the rage, and began to make the old coat look a bit dour and bedraggled. But some people still chose to wear it. Let's call them the faithful. They were resistant to new fashion and daily adorned themselves with the old coat, which by this time was really in quite a state. Mouldy, moth eaten, smelly and frayed. It wasn't very good at keeping out the weather, but some still found it cosy and comforting to wear. Those sporting the newer design were largely tolerant, but did get a bit fed up at being told that the old coat was still fine. You don't need a new coat, they would hear; this one's fit for purpose. The new fashionistas looked on, perplexed, heads tilted oddly as these old timers droned wearily on. Truth was, nobody had much time for the old coat now, because everyone with half decent eyesight could see that it didn't protect the wearer from anything. In fact quite the reverse; it left them exposed to all manner of things that rendered them quite credulous. But they wouldn't remove their coat. They'd had it for too long, and it was too comfortable, so they shambled about their business, looking just a bit peculiar and sad.