CHAPTER ONE
Emma Simon, a young girl trying to fit into a seventh-grade class after
years in a school for the deaf, suddenly without communication by signing,
came face to face with the full extent of her mental captivity. Her thoughts,
often brilliant, left her in anguish when she couldn’t share them.
It began when the teacher reading a roll call heard no response to her name.
He looked up and told her to say “present” when he saw her raised hand. She
signalled her deafness with gestures.
“You’re deaf?”
She nodded. Without looking around, she knew everyone stared at her. It left
no choice but to focus on the teacher until the moment passed. Though barely
entering her teen years, she displayed an uncommon strength of character,
seldom letting others see her inner conflict. Or see her frustration when a
teacher turned to write on the blackboard, hiding lips from view. She was part
of an ill-treated minority, a woman of color. Pretty and on the verge of blossoming
into a beautiful woman, yet, withdrawn in her silent world, she seemed somewhat
shielded from discrimination.
Unlike most classmates who simply regarded her as an oddity that first day,
Johnny McEwan saw immediately the burden she bore. A popular class leader, he
taught himself to play the piano and often enticed classmates into a sing-along.
His extraordinary musical talent also showed when he sang with a pure tenor voice
that would make any cathedral proud.
Johnny never let his leadership role, that stemmed from an extrovert nature and
entertaining personality, go to his head. Humility came from an empathy that
invariably led him to stand up for the less fortunate. That first day, Emma
struck him as one of them. Discussing her with his mother introduced him to
the world of sign language and like learning to play the piano, he made mastering
it a project. Once he gained an appreciation for the time it would take, he
decided to keep it a secret until at least modestly proficient.
His debut came on a day when Emma was particularly frustrated by inability to respond
to the teacher. Johnny casually signed, “Is Princess Della wrong?”
Her jaw dropped. She stared at him. After a moment to recover, she tentatively
signed, “Yes, poem written by Robert Frost.”
He signed back, “Little princess not as smart as she thinks.”
She laughed as he turned to their teacher, “Emma says the poem was written by
Robert Frost.”
Della burst in, “No it wasn’t!”
“Actually, yes it was Frost. Did Emma tell you that Johnny, or did you just
answer for her?”
“She told me.”
The teacher paused in thought. He taught himself to sign! It must have taken
weeks. Too young to be sexually motivated, it must have occurred out of
empathy.
From then on, class dynamics changed. Emma was thrilled to have this new
communication channel open. Class participation increased. So did her infatuation
with Johnny.
They made a strange pair, opposites in so many ways. Not just her life in a
silent world versus his world of music and constant conversation. Beyond deafness,
she had a stoic type of personality given to observe and analyze everyone around
her. Nothing escaped her attention and everything she wrote, texted or signed was
carefully thought out. Johnny, quick to jump to conclusions, outspoken and
charismatic, thrived in a crowd.
Perhaps they were attracted to each other because they covered one another’s
weaknesses. And they had three significant similarities. Both were highly
intelligent, had a fine sense of humor and were physically attractive.
With Emma’s increased freedom, she blossomed into an integral part of the class.
She needed to be drawn into activities. He enjoyed dragging her into them.
They often competed for top marks on tests. Over the next three years, friendship
evolved into companionship with a growing awareness of love. Their communication
brought her quick wit into the open and her analytic nature seemed to keep
him grounded.
It wasn’t all fun and roses. Johnny felt the sexual urges most teenage boys
experienced. His attempts to go beyond the kisses and hugs they both enjoyed
were firmly rejected by Emma. When he signed that all their classmates were
doing it, she replied, “I don’t care. We’re too young.”
“When will we be old enough?”
“I’ll tell you when.”
She knew she walked a tight rope with the risk of losing him. When she confided
her misgivings to her mother, Janet Simon bolstered her reserve.
“If he truly cares for you, he will honor your choice.”
Janet realized that was scant comfort and being a practical woman, eventually
insisted Emma get a birth control pill prescription.
Eleventh grade introduced significant change in each of their lives. Emma’s father,
James, taught at a local community college which allowed the family to spend
summers at a lakeside cabin in Montana. Her absence left Johnny, now matured
into John, at loose ends. Wandering into a prestigious Boise department store,
he noticed an unattended grand piano and wondered what it would be like to
play. In no time, a crowd of interested listeners gathered.
When the paid musician returned from his break and displaced him, the crowd
applauded his performance and one of them, a restauranteur, offered him a
job entertaining his lunch-time customers. Over the summer, hours expanded
to evenings as well and John introduced vocals and enticed sing-alongs. It
quickly became a profitable venture, thanks to a productive tip jar.
Start of the school year introduced Emma to the world of computer programming.
She loved how it gave vent to her creativity and benefitted from her analytic
attention to detail, all without the pressure of constant communication.
The year was marked with a third significant event. It started in an American
History class when their teacher Roy Cameron commented, “As we all know,
slavery was abolished when the North won the Civil War.”
John spoke up, “Actually, Confederates won.”
“John, we all know the Union won the Civil War.”
“No. They won battles, not the war.”
“You know better than all the history books?”
“I know what I see. The war’s not over yet, but Confederates have essentially won.”
“We’re not going to waste class time pursuing your foolish argument. If you feel
strongly about it, write a report to defend your position.”
Roy didn’t think he would. A host of previous teachers knew better. Three days
later, he presented his report.
Who Won the Civil War? By John McEwan
Faced with the United States’ call to abolish slavery, the southern states banded
together to form the Confederate States of America with the intention of
seceding from the Union. The North considered that an act of rebellion which
then precipitated the Civil War in 1861.
By 1865, the southern army was defeated on the battlefield and its soldiers
scattered when General Lee surrendered. President Jefferson Davis was captured
and the Union army occupied the confederate states. The 13th Amendment abolished
slavery. Victory was signed, sealed and delivered—in theory.
However, the defeated rebels reverted to guerrilla warfare using arson,
assassination, lynching’s, even pitched battles to terrorize people loyal
to the Union. Confederate leaders either maintained or regained control of
state governments. Union forces were unable to rebuild or reshape the south
and by 1877 were forced to withdraw from confederate states.
State constitutions were rewritten to undermine the effect of the 13th, 14th
and 15th Amendments and restore upper class supremacy. Slavery was replaced
by segregation and those theoretically freed were paid a pittance, barely
enough to survive. Forced back into hard labor, thousands remained in shackles
and whippings were as common as ever. Plantation aristocrats regained the
same control they enjoyed before the war.
Hiding behind the Second Amendment, confederate state governments built strong
militias to enforce segregation. Blacks were denied the vote and equal
protection under the law as promised by the Constitution. Yes, the Union
won on the battlefield, but the Confederate States of America preserved
their way of life and won the war which actually lasted from 1861 to 1877.
When Roy read it to the class, they asked if he agreed with it. He paused before
responding, “Yes.”
“But it’s not what the textbook says.”
“The lesson here is to question everything you hear or read. History books are
not gospel. Even gospel is not gospel. Books are written by people who are
influenced by their times, associates, even those in power. You would likely
find that Russian history written under Stalin bears no resemblance to that
written fifty years earlier.”
John claimed, “The war is still going on and has spread into northern states.
It’s really about those who control wealth fighting against change. In the
south it was rich landowners holding down blacks and poor whites. It’s spread
to Tea Party resistance to change with essentially the same goal. Radical
conservatives employ propaganda, character assassination and intimidation.
They use the power of Congress to further goals of a very vocal minority.
The only way to combat what I call the Tea Puppets is to vote them out of office.
Roy Cameron summarized, “John has put his finger on one of the most fundamental
issues facing society today, conflict between authoritarian leaderships
hoarding wealth and universal human welfare and happiness.”
John added, “And there’s a growing number of militia bands to take over what
the KKK used to do.”