While I generally agree with your statement, I would argue that we do know what bitcoin is. It is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system as stated in the original white paper. That is all it was ever meant to be and perhaps that is all it should ever be. Everything else is a divergence, a mutation, a co-opt. Just because Core made the changes doesn't mean that those changes are "correct". Just because a judge makes a decision doesn't mean it's morally "just". Just because your local pastor makes a declaration doesn't mean it's gospel. These are decisions of the group,. the society, but unfortunately we tend to outsource them to individuals who can wield them as they see fit.

We shall see where things go. Maybe we can see a dozen new bitcoin clients in the next year. Bitaxes on every shelf all creating their own blocks. Decentralize everything. Move the power away from the centralized miners, centralized devs, centralized hardware wallets, and back to the individual where it should be.