Independence Day - Bearing Witness

Kelly McEvers has been bearing witness as a reporter in Syria and other ravaged parts of the Middle East for some time. She took over the spot in my mind formerly held by the heroic Anne Garrels who reported mesmerizing accounts of the Iraq war. I marveled over the bravery and perhaps insane devotion to the telling of truth of first Anne Garrels and now Kelly. I worried about Anne Garrels’ children and I worry about Kelly McEvers’ children and I worry about what the world would know about the truth without women like Anne and Kelly. I focus on women because I believe that these women are able to find a truth not accessible to male correspondents. In a larger sense I worry about the loss the world would face without the courage of both men and women who journey into places like Syria, Iraq, Bosnia and Viet Nam at the height of conflicts. Kelly McEvers was on the radio this morning, July 5, 2013, and talked about the need for eye witness reporting. She is out there every day, watching, taking in what she sees and on the street interviewing as many people as she can because there is no replacement for the eye witness to truth and to history. Even with all the Tweets, Facebook posts and billions of daily email posts, sent out by billions of humans, we all still depend on the careful reporting of the eye witness of people like Kelly McEvers and Anne Garrels. They tell the truth one story at a time so as to tell the larger of story of what is happening in a complex and turbulent world. And as I was listening to Kelly McEvers this morning, I was heartened and encouraged by our own armchair contribution to eye witness reporting. Here at History Chip, our efforts may not be in war zones but we are dedicated to bearing witness to the truth and to our history – one story at a time, so as to tell the larger story of our world and our history. Adding a story to History Chip you bear witness and you participate in that truth telling that is one of our basic rights and reasons for celebrating July 4. So, now that the fireworks are done, the hot dogs have been consumed, tell a story at Historychip.com. Add your voice, your story, to history.