Observers only output in one direction

I feel like the idea of an observer is a bit too "inconsistent" for minecraft redstone creation. Why does it only take an input/give an output in only one direction? It behaves nothing like the redstone block, which powers everything around it, which I find strange for reasons below.

I know this isn't exactly a bug but please hear me out. If the recent snapshot, where copper bulbs, which behave nothing like any other block, have been fixed to work more "consistently," then I feel like this should be fixed to work more consistently with the actual game as well. Thank you for reading