When you are very low on maslow’s hierarchy, short term is important.
Hungry? Food.
Naked? Clothes.
Stuff like that. It’s a simple problem, and it has a simple answer. (where to get food or clothes is not necessarily simple, but that you need them, and need them now, is obvious ) Point is, when you are in such a situation, it is hard to think long term, it is hard to think past the next meal. Short term survival is all there is.
What I don’t understand is that people who are presumably fed clothed and housed, as they are taking the time to sit in front of a computer and type things out, also are in the same short term survival mode as someone who is naked and starving. Why are people that have no immediate threats to their survival always concerned about what tomorrow brings, but never concerned about what next year, or next decade, or even a century from now will bring for your children or grandchildren?
I also completely understand the looking out for yourself mentality, when it take all of your own efforts to survive. I do not understand this mentality when it takes only a small part of your effort for survival, and giving of yourself some of your surplus effort will not only improve the lives of others, but also their own in indirect (but easily mappable to those with an attention span) ways.