That is very well-said. Your analogy reminds me of a conversation I had with Tanzanian slum-dwellers as part of my thesis on why, given the extensive knowledge on HIV/AIDS and other STDs, they continue having high rates of unprotected sex.

One man explained to me (and this is a translation):

When you're at the bottom of a mountain, you can't see anything around you, just your immediate surroundings. They look the same every single day. We are at rock-bottom; we have no future. We have nothing to look forward to. The higher you climb, the more you can see your opportunities and you can envision a future for yourself.

Essentially, he was describing their hopelessness. They have no future; their future is their dreary day-to-day subsistence existence. They don't plan ahead, or consider the consequences of their actions, because they are too far down to see anything else. Being able to plan ahead, and envision a path ahead of you, is a luxury reserved for those who have moved up in life and who are high enough on that mountain to be able to actually look around at their possibilities and options.