Comments | roadriverrail: Charlie Simpson, goddamned hero

roadriverrail

Charlie Simpson, goddamned hero

Jan 25, 2010 14:23

I want to introduce you to someone. I heard about him on NPR today. His name is Charlie Simpson, and, like me, he is a charity cyclist. His current charity is the UNICEF fund for Haiti ( Read more... )

yes yes goddamnit yes, cycling, charity

Comments 10

anonymous January 25 2010, 22:29:49 UTC

this is a totally awesome story.

roadriverrail January 25 2010, 22:38:53 UTC

I certainly think so.

But who is that masked stranger commenting?

skygypsy January 25 2010, 23:31:54 UTC

this is so awesome, I got goose bumps.
WOW.!!

cyan_blue January 26 2010, 00:04:35 UTC

Very inspiring! Thanks!

A long history whooper January 26 2010, 06:17:17 UTC

Why? Because the world is a really horrible place, and there's not much I can do. But I have a bike and legs to use it. I have a mouth and words to speak which my enemies cannot gainsay or deny. And goddamnit, I will use them.

The more I read of the lives of saints, the more I find that this seems to be the common denominator. Very few of them write The City of God or translate the Vulgate or are born under a special star; the vast majority are amazingly ordinary folk who at some point said "alright, that's it - I refuse to submit to cynicism or despair. Despite the great majority of evidence that we are a species of shitty little monsters on a planet which frequently kills us without thought or care, I still refuse to just stop trying. I will keep the faith that I can possibly make things better, and that even if I can't, it is worthwhile to make the effort It matters.

Re: A long history roadriverrail January 26 2010, 20:53:31 UTC

That's very interesting, as I have not read much about the lives of saints and it often seems that what little I do know suggests they were either quite grand heroes with great accomplishments or that miraculous powers are attributed to them.

Of course, these are values which I share, and it is why I often tell my existentialist brethren, in times of sorrow, to "keep the faith," despite a superficial idea that we might not have any faith to keep.

"We are faced with evil. And, as for me, I feel rather as Augustine did before becoming a Christian when he said: "I tried to find the source of evil and I got nowhere." But it is also true that I, and a few others, know what must be done, if not to reduce evil, at least not to add to it. Perhaps we cannot prevent this world from being a world in which children are tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children. And if you do not help us, who else in the world can help us do this ( ... )

princess_lesa January 26 2010, 18:50:43 UTC

That is inspiring!