WASHINGTON WATCH: MISS AMERICA: SYMBOL FOR ALL OF US

In a land that cherishes community while privileging the individual, controversy has a way of rearing its head when least expected. When Heather Whitestone, a 21-year-old from Birmingham, Ala., was selected Miss America last Saturday night, much of the country smiled and cried with her. Having lost all but a fraction of her hearing when she was 18 months old, she is the first winner with a disability in the pageant's 74-year history. Yet some deaf Americans, while proud of Whitestone's accomplishments, are concerned that her crowning might send the wrong message to millions of profoundly deaf children and their families across the country.

At the heart of this particular controversy is language -- a specifically communal endeavor -- and how it impacts upon the potential of the individual.

Heather Whitestone is no ordinary woman. Not because she is beautiful on the outside, which she is, but because she is beautiful on the inside. Her courage, spirit and belief in self should be an inspiration to all -- with and without handicaps. In a post-pageant interview she explained how she wanted to tell young adults that the only handicap in life is "negative thinking" and that she was raised by a mother who told her never to forget that the last four letters of "American" spell "I can."But Whitestone is no ordinary deaf woman, either. She was born with full hearing and still maintains 5 percent hearing in her left ear. This doesn't diminish her heroic accomplishments, which include six years of speech therapy just to be able to pronounce her last name. But Whitestone was able to turn her residual hearing and her early exposure to spoken language into an ability to lip-read and talk, something which is nearly impossible -- certainly on the level Whitestone is at -- for a man or woman born deaf. What concerns many deaf leaders is that Whitestone's example might discourage some families with deaf children from learning and teaching their children sign language. This would be unfortunate, they say. Sign language -- in particular, American Sign Language -- offers deaf children the best opportunity to communicate fully with others, thus allowing them to reach their greatest potential. Lipreading, even by those who are expert, is only sporadically successful.

The other concern is that Whitestone's success may boost the idea of "mainstreaming" for deaf students. While mainstreaming may work for some students with disabilities, this government-encouraged practice of removing students with disabilities from special schools and entering them in regular classes is considered counterproductive for the deaf. The track record seems to be that deaf students lose out on both counts: by not being in a specialized school, they fail to learn ASL. Yet by being mainstreamed, they are unable to learn a language which is voiced but they cannot hear.

It is easy for those of us who are hearing to dismiss the concerns of those in the deaf community. Heather Whitestone made her accomplishments in our world, under our terms. Let us applaud her for what she has done. Let us be inspired by her, for she is certainly strong. But let us also realize that she is an individual, an amazing one, and her path to success may not be the same for others who are deaf.

There is another lesson, too, this one for all of us -- hearing, deaf, black, white, young, old -- and that is the message of the last four letters in our name: American. If we believe. And if we work. As Heather has taught us, it can be done.

Jon K. Rust, who is learning American Sign Language at the BiCultural Center in Riverdale, Md., is a Washington-based writer for the Southeast Missourian.