Evidence of Selflessness

In today’s world we hear many stories of adolescent selfishness. In case anyone has doubts about the capacity for selflessness among today’s young people, I present 15-year-old Lewis Bartlett.

Lewis was talking to his aunt and 4-year-old cousin by a busy road in Beddau, South Wales, United Kingdom. In a moment of distraction, the 4-year-old wandered into the street. Lewis turned to see his cousin in the street with a car bearing down on him. Without hesitation, Lewis acted. As he put it; “I went into the road to protect him.”

That’s his understated way of saying that he ran between his cousin and the car, scooped his cousin into his arms, and let the car hit him. The pair was thrown 5 or more feet into the air, with Lewis protectively clutching his cousin the entire time.

Though both of them suffered injuries, they both survived the accident. It is doubtful, however, that the 4-year-old would have survived had Lewis not intervened.

Lewis has been given a special bravery award for his actions, but this really wasn’t an act of bravery. It was simply a selfless act by a teen seeing a family member in danger, and doing something about it.