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Are the past and present vague shadows compared to a bright future?
Driving on an empty asphalt road through the idyllic rural landscapes at sunset (Rasica/gettyimages)

Are the past and present vague shadows compared to a bright future?

In this week's podcast, Rabbi Daniel Lapin talked about the role of time and the default condition for human beings. Everyone, even animals, lives in the present. Rabbi Lapin observes that there are no animals who consciously look ahead but there are things humans and animals do instinctively.

Rabbi Lapin says it takes considerable cultural input and cultural energy to make certain that a sufficiently large proportion of any population isn't primarily present focused.

"The more present focused you are, the more tolerant you are of debt, because the bill only comes due sometime in the future. And as you become more somebody capable only of relating to the present, not the future, you literally don't feel the imperative of what's coming down the road in the future," Rabbi Lapin says.

Lapin believes that visual input such as television, entertainment, all stress the present. Whereas when you read a book, your mind is free to move through the past, present and future, but not when consuming visual entertainment.

"When a sufficiently large part of a population is focused only on the present, then you have a population that is not willing to accept any discomfort today, in exchange for enormous benefits tomorrow," Lapin says.

Listen to more episodes of Rabbi Daniel Lapin at TheBlaze Contributors.

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