--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Too often, our concern for specific…" description: "\"Too often, our concern for specific individuals today means neglecting crises that will harm countless people in the future.\" — Paul Bloom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/paul-bloom-3720_concern_too-often-our-concern-for-specific-indiv_1630768.jpg" --- # Too often, our concern for specific individuals today… ![“Too often, our concern for specific individuals today means neglecting crises that will harm countless people in the future.” quote by Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/paul-bloom-3720_concern_too-often-our-concern-for-specific-indiv_1630768.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/paul-bloom-3720_concern_too-often-our-concern-for-specific-indiv_1630768.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/paul-bloom-3720_concern_too-often-our-concern-for-specific-indiv_1630768.jpg) > “Too often, our concern for specific individuals today means neglecting crises that will harm countless people in the future.” [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on a few individuals can cause neglect of larger, future harms. **In simple terms:** Concern for some can ignore many. Key Takeaway Balance present compassion with future impact. Themes ethics empathy future generations resource allocation Mood reflective serious Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - public health planning - climate policy - philanthropy strategy Key Concepts moral psychology long‑term thinking Questions to Reflect On - How to weigh present vs. future needs? - What mechanisms ensure broader concern? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on immediacy may bias decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [“Neglecting them leads to spiritual and emotional problems; having them met, however, frees us to meet the needs of others cheerfully and without resentment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/neglecting-them-leads-to-spiritual-and-emotional-problems-having-them/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [Being a woman in music and having kids, it's very hard to do both without neglecting one a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-wainwright/being-a-woman-in-music-and-having-kids-it-s-very-hard-to-do-both/) [Martha Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-wainwright/) > [Neglecting small things under the pretext of wanting to accomplish large ones is the excuse of a coward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-david-neel/neglecting-small-things-under-the-pretext-of-wanting-to-accomplish/) [Alexandra David-Neel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-david-neel/) > [“If your life is like a tragedy it is because you have been neglecting something — most likely yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-your-life-is-like-a-tragedy-it-is-because-you-have-been-neglecting/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [If one undertakes retrospection of the day's events, one must do it regularly at the appointed hour, not fitfully, not doing it today, neglecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahavira/if-one-undertakes-retrospection-of-the-day-s-events-one-must-do-it/) [Mahavira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahavira/) > [We haven't lost romance in the digital age, but we may be neglecting it. 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Americans were bowling alone, pursuing individual interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/when-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-premiered-on-the-wb-network-in-1996/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [Stop trying to please everyone else, you just end up neglecting the ones who care about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-martin/stop-trying-to-please-everyone-else-you-just-end-up-neglecting-the/) [Brandon Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-martin/) > [We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/we-become-so-caught-up-in-the-busyness-of-our-lives-were-we-to-step/) [Thomas S. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Paul Bloom > [I have two teenage sons, and they're both surviving, thriving, and having a great time, and they're always on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-have-two-teenage-sons-and-they-re-both-surviving-thriving-and/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [If Inigo Montoya were around now, he wouldn't need to storm the castle to bring his father's murderer to justice; the police would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/if-inigo-montoya-were-around-now-he-wouldn-t-need-to-storm-the-castle/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Most of us know nothing about constitutional law, so it's hardly surprising that we take sides in the Obamacare debate the way we root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/most-of-us-know-nothing-about-constitutional-law-so-it-s-hardly/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [“Being a good person likely is more related to distanced feelings of compassion and kindness, along with intelligence, self-control, and a sense of justice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/being-a-good-person-likely-is-more-related-to-distanced-feelings-of/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Imagination is Reality Lite - a useful substitute when the real pleasure is inaccessible, too risky, or too much work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/imagination-is-reality-lite-a-useful-substitute-when-the-real/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [One way to make a baby cry is to expose it to cries of other babies. 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When Obama wanted to bomb Syria, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/when-people-want-to-inspire-you-to-turn-against-some-group-of-people/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I'm very interested in why we do good things, or bad things, and where moral judgments come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-m-very-interested-in-why-we-do-good-things-or-bad-things-and-where/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I have my own difficulty with movies in which the suffering of the characters is too real, and many find it difficult to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-have-my-own-difficulty-with-movies-in-which-the-suffering-of-the/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I think what a lot of fiction is, is the imagining of the worst so as to prepare ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-think-what-a-lot-of-fiction-is-is-the-imagining-of-the-worst-so-as/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Morality is often seen as an innovation, like agriculture and writing. From this perspective, babies are pint-sized psychopaths, self-interested beings who need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/morality-is-often-seen-as-an-innovation-like-agriculture-and-writing/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) [Explore all 123 Paul Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) ## More Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/more-compassionate-mind-more-sense-of-concern-for-other-s-well-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. 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