Explain and Justify
Briefcase and lesson plan in hand and the need to educate and enlighten in mind, William Bennett hurried into his tenth grade American History class. He spared the seated students a quick glance as he dropped the briefcase by his desk and slapped the manilla envelope onto the top. He reached into his tweed jacket pocket for his reading glasses while removing several sheets of paper from the envelope. The first sheet he brought into his right hand while the rest of them were cast back down onto the desk.
He gave another look to his students, allowing an easy smile to come over his face, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen."
Thirty years ago, everyone would have immediately returned the greeting; some with enthusiasm, and others in their usual, bored way. Those were fearful, respectful days, back then. Harder days, too. People were perhaps a bit more appreciative then than they were now: for today, in the year of 2007, only Cameron Baum churned out a hello in her typical monotone voice. Everyone else was silent, now all boredom instead of mixed enthusiasm. Bennett scarcely noticed anymore except when he made a direct point of thinking about it as he was now. During the nineties he demanded respect. He told them the first day, I expect respect from you people. I give it to you, and you give it right on back. My respect for you is not necessarily a right, as you'll find for most things in life; it is a privilege.
Two thousands? He didn't even bother. The growing trend from the prosperity of the Clinton years and the subsequent consumerism (and, by extension, the cynicism) of the Bush era seemed to give the young people of America only one thing to say anymore: Mister Bennett, I've got mine already. iPods, internet, and good food whenever I want it. What's the point?
Not much, William Bennett came to understand. And he was a fairly liberal man nowadays, following the basic philosophy of "live and let live." He did his best to teach, not to impose.
... Still, he pined for those days of respect. Of the days of "we're all in this together." Alas... no more.
"Now, before I call the roll, ladies and gentlemen, I will say that today you are in for a surprise."
"No test?" Andrew Kaplan asked hopefully.
Mr. Bennett spread his hands, "It is a surprise, Andy. It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now, would it?"
"Oh," was all Andrew said. Bennett rolled his eyes privately and started on the roll.
"Elizabeth Baines?... Not here? Hm. I know you're here, Cameron, but your brother...?"
"Here," John Baum said, raising his hand.
"Ah, there you are. You should stop moving seats so often, it's getting difficult to track you." He chuckled. John didn't. He moved his seat every single day, and made no attempt to explain it, having been asked more than once by Bennett. It would have been unsettling if Bennett didn't get at least one oddball in his class every year, and he already had Cameron. Bennett had no doubt that if their mother, Sarah, had been in this class more than a decade ago, he probably would have found her odd as well. Some families were just all strange, no two ways about it.
He went through the attendance sheet methodically; four absences. There were always a few nowadays, but Bennett wasn't about to get back into another internal monologue, lamenting the irresponsibility of today's youth. He folded the sheet up and slipped it onto the desk. Then he turned to the class, whipping the pair of bifocals off from his nose and giving them the most intellectual, enlightened stare he could muster.
"The surprise, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear, is the lack of a test today." He allowed the students to cheer. Only a few of them did.
They were just so... uninterested. That could easily define these people today. Uninterested. Thirty years ago and there would have been a racketous celebration. Now...
"Now, you may be wondering why that is. It is not due to a scheduling problem, nor have I misplaced my notes. Nor do I doubt that you'd all pass with flying colors, having studied diligently for this."
That got a chuckle out of them. They definitely appreciated sarcasm. Sarcasm was big these days. Bennett paused for a moment, and then laid upon them his actual plans, "No. I've decided instead to dedicate today to another test."
Some groans and protests. About what?! Have we gone over it? This sucks!
He raised a calming hand, which did little to silence them. Raising his voice, he said, "But you shouldn't worry, I think, for I am not grading this. It's simply an evaluation... or a reward, depending on how well you do."
He reached onto his desk and recovered the sheets of paper he'd deposited there earlier. Counted them quickly as he said, "Now some of you may be wondering what it is I am evaluating you on."
"Yesterday, my esteemed colleague Mrs. Vandenberg was shocked to learn that a large percentage of high school students across the nation were unable to define the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights. Now, naturally I told her that she shouldn't be surprised; it is rather difficult to remember them all, and even I myself have trouble sometimes." He tapped his balding, wispy-haired head with a smile, "Point taken, she said. But how can we expect our youth to fully appreciate and, indeed, understand the freedoms we have in this country if they don't even know what they are? Point taken, I myself returned. One thing led to another and we both resolved to put aside our lesson plans for today in order to discuss the Constitution of the United States of America, its amendments, and what all that means for you, the citizen."
"This sounds really boring," John Baum called out.
Bennett shrugged, "It's definitely not an easy subject, Mr. Baum, but one that I feel is necessary. A subject whose importance, perhaps, has been unfortunately forgotten in this country. Now, we'll start off with the aforementioned test; it will not be added to your overall grade if you don't do so well on it. If you do well on it, I'll consider it half a perfect quiz grade. Following the test I will divide you up into groups; I will give each group an amendment or two to analyze, and then you will present your findings to the rest of the class. Hopefully by the end of this you will have a heightened appreciation for the revolutionary ideas that went into the founding of this country."
He shook the test papers in his hands with a benevolent smile, "Here it comes."
--
Thirty minutes later.
It was going about as well as Bennett had expected; most of the students were still on the test, banging against it as though it were nothing less than a midterm. He'd expected this, yes, but that didn't mean he was particularly thrilled. So far two groups had been formed out of the students who'd gotten through it already, but they couldn't exactly discuss anything yet, having to keep their voices low. The fact that this would extend into tomorrow was plain for all to see.
Bennett sighed. And then he raised an eyebrow as John Baum grabbed his paper, crumpled it into a large, crinkly ball, and proceeded to throw it away.
"Not entirely to your satisfaction, Mr. Baum?" William Bennett asked.
"Not entirely," John replied, voice dripping with strangely bitter sarcasm, "Can I have another?"
Bennett nodded, "Certainly. Do hurry this time."
He handed a clean slip of paper to the teenager and watched as he retreated back to his desk. Bennett looked over his desk and into the trash bin. The original --and offending-- sheet lay within at the bottom.
Well, at least he was giving it some thought. Or his original answers had been so terrible that he knew he was unlikely to get good marks on it. John's quality of writing and analytical skills when it came to history were sometimes impressive, and sometimes frustratingly indifferent. It was, Bennett had come to see, almost completely random whenever the boy actually seemed good at something, there was no particular topic that he enjoyed more than others (although most of his attention was given when Bennett went over wars.) Quite the enigma, really. What exactly had he rejected here?
Bennett did wonder what was on that sheet.
--
Fourteen minutes later.
William Bennett cleared his throat, "Now, obviously we're running out of time, so we'll have to pick this up tomorrow. Whoever still has a test out, please take it home with you and finish it there. I'll know if you've plagiarized from Wikipedia."
Chuckles all around, including Bennett's. As the bell rang he said, "Be sure to think on this for tomorrow, I expect to hear good things out of you all!"
Conversation filled the classroom as the youngsters started to file out. And Bennett knew that not one conversation was devoted to the Constitution or the ideas within. He sighed. He was surprised, however, when John Baum slapped his revised test on the desk, "Sorry it's late," he said.
"You're earlier than most of them, so don't be," Bennett said mildly, taking the sheet. He gave it a quick glance and turned his eyes up to John. Cameron, his sister, was lingering in the classroom. She always left with him. Always, "Good day, John."
"Yeah, see you."
He left the classroom along with his sister, leaving Bennett as it's sole occupant. The hallway outside rumbled with passing footfalls and conversation. Bennett sighed. He wasn't a happy man right now. Of the people who'd turned their test in early, most of them (except Cameron) seemed to had given the least amount of effort possible in answering the questions posed to them. He'd never scrawled so many "C's" onto so many papers in all his years of teaching. And it was so simple, too, they could have fleshed out their answers marvelously if they just gave a bit of thought to the matter.
As usual, Flora Vandenberg was more shrewd than he. Oh well. That was his problem, really. He took too much of a professorial stance to teaching high school students, and his expectations were consistently underwhelmed. Some of them just weren't smart enough, or driven enough.
Bah. What could he do? Not much, sir. Not much at all. He gathered up the strewn about papers on his desk and arranged them neatly into his folder. John's, being the last turned in, lay at the top. Like many of the others, he hadn't written all that much. William sighed and drew it out, bringing along his red pen. This wouldn't take long.
He read the first, incredibly canned and generic answer. Raised his pen to add a few comments before he lowered the pen mechanically, bent forward, and jerked the crumpled up ball of paper out of the garbage can. He unfolded it, placed his reading glasses on his nose, cracked his neck, and read;
John Connor
Mr. Bennett 2007
AMERICAN HISTORY BILL OF RIGHTS ASSIGNMENT
The United States Constitution, ratified by the thirteen states in 1788, contained in its first ten amendments (known as the Bill of Rights) several revolutionary ideas on the concept of civil liberties and basic human rights. Below this paragraph are those ten amendments, exactly as how they were written two hundred years ago. Using your knowledge of American history and our early assignments, explain, in your own words, the basic concept of each amendment and provide justification for the ideas within. Explain and justify.
The Bill of Rights
First Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Tom Jefferson is telling me I should respect people's right to tell me I'm wrong. So I've gotta ask, "which people?" The people sitting around in steel bunkers with me? The warlords? Why should I grant them that right, I ask Jefferson. Why should I let them undermine me when I already know I'm leading them to victory? Why tell some barbarian chief guy "hey, that's cool. You wanna criticize me without me killing your ass or throwing you in a jail? Cool." I don't think so. Criticism goes to revolution, and that's something I won't be able to afford. That's just incredibly dumb. You'd have so much in-fighting going on and NO UNIFICATION. People wasting each other just for words, it's so stupid. I mean, I don't like the IDEA of not following this one, and I won't exactly get rid of EVERYONE who disagrees with me... only the really bad ones, I guess. But to let them all criticize me, when our survival is at stake? No. I can't, I won't.
Second Amendment- A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Best right of all. Everyone should have a gun, Tom Jefferson says, and I agree. Guns are your one-way ticket to telling the metal to fuck off, whether it's a shotgun to keep them on the floor or a pistol to keep them distracted. Or an assault rifle to mess them up, I guess. I mean, if you don't have weapons, you have no way of surviving, it's just stupid. We're all gonna need these things to survive, to hunt, to kill, so it's just stupid that people think that guns shouldn't be easily accessed. It's common sense.
Third Amendment- No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
What the hell does this mean, anyway? Not to let soldiers into your home? Soldiers are people too, just like you and me. We're all gonna live in the same place, so I don't see the point in this. Honestly. People aren't gonna have much of a choice soon.
Fourth Amendment- The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This is useless. People are gonna do what the resistance says or they can get killed by the fucking metal. It's their choice.
Fifth Amendment- No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
So, basically Tom Jefferson's saying that it'd be unfair to be punished for something if you didn't go through the whole process of judgment. I guess that makes sense, but I don't know if I could follow it. I mean, you don't even know half the time who's a person and who's metal in disguise, so it's really a crapshoot. Sometimes it's better to just be quick and unfair rather than slow and fair, you know? If we spent resources convicting people by the book ALL THE TIME then we wouldn't be able to use those resources for better things. Bureaucrats can be used on the front lines instead of sitting around listening to a trial, right? At least they'd be useful that way. I mean, if it's a REALLY good case then I'd wanna hear it the way it's supposed to be, but for little stuff like thievery and shit? No. Just punish them to keep order, and to set an example. That's how it's gonna be done.
Sixth Amendment- In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
This is stupid. Like I said, if there's a lot of doubt, sure, we'll trial them, but anything else and they're just punished, clean and simple. I think it's more important to set an example so people don't get it in their head to act like pricks to their neighbors than for good old fashioned justice to be served every time.
Seventh Amendment- In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
STUPID. Using one judge would be much easier, having a jury would take too many people away from their duties, like cooking, nursing children, fighting on the surface, keeping security, all that shit. Stupid.
Eight Amendment- Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Tom Jefferson means torture and shit, right? Punishing someone for something minor? Cutting a hand off so it doesn't steal again? We shouldn't do that, right? I guess it's really unfair to do that, but sometimes you gotta make an exception. Like I said, you gotta make an example. And sometimes taking drastic measures is necessary. Suppose some guy is hoarding a lot of food and he doesn't want to say where it is? Cut the bastards fingers off, we need that fucking food, no two ways about it. He deserves it anyway. I wouldn't do it a lot, though. I think. I hope
Ninth Amendment- The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
I don't even know what this means. Well, I guess it means some basic human rights not covered in the Bill of Rights should be protected, right? Eye of the beholder, I say. Some things will go, others will stay, that's all there is to it.
God, writing all this feels really weird. Hello nobody. How are you enjoying this? I'm having a fucking blast writting about what a fascist I'm gonna be when I grow up, because I have no other choice. Because it's my fuckinfg destiny and I'm stuck, heading toward it. I'm gona rule all these people and we're gonna blast those motherfucking machines into dust and I'm gonna be a terible person while I do it. A fucking terrible person who kills people I dislike, and I don't even grant them basic dignity. I grant them only survival, and not even that's a sure thing. I fucking hate this. Fuck it.
Tenth Amendment- The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
fuck the united states. there's only humanity.
William Bennett, who was sixty years old and had taught at this high school for over thirty years and had never seen anything even remotely like this in all his life, stared at the piece of paper for a long time. He re-read it once, twice, and then three times more before he grabbed his pen with a shaking hand.
He wrote See me after class at the top of the page.
Alongside that, an A+. Bennett laid back against his swivel chair and stared at the ceiling until the school bell rang again.
Edit: Alright, since I basically have mixed feelings about the second chapter now, I'll leave it to you, the reader, on which ending you'd prefer; it ending right here, or in the next chapter. Your choice.