"You are holding women to a higher standard than men," he said. "Madame used to tell us that this is traditional, for men have usually been the judge… - Sheri S. Tepper

Blind faith in somebody stepping in to fix things eliminates a lot of emotional stress, so blind faith is what most people have!

By now, the Mahahmbi think we've always been around. They already believed they were God's favorites when they came here, so it wasn't hard to persuade them God created slaves for them."
Melanie snarled, "And if you believe you're God's favorite, killing a few women and children doesn't bother you…

Another window to the outside opened on the first day of school, when an eager young teacher told the class they could find out anything in the world if they paid attention and learned to read. To Jake it came as a revelation, the missing piece of the puzzle of his life! Here was the secret of existence he had known must be somewhere! All the mysteries of his existence would come clear, all the things he wondered about, if he would only learn to read. He did learn, quickly, passionately, with the ardor many boys reserve for sports.