There was a lull in the conversation, and Laura took that opportunity to speak her mind. "Master Jacob is right. Before I went off to college I thought that 'targets of indoctrination' was a bit harsh, but that is what I found there. If you mouth liberal orthodoxy you are considered enlightened, but if you said anything against it you were seen, at best, as a fool who needed to learn better.
"The proof is in how anyone who strays from the liberal dogma is treated. They are shouted down by the 'shock troops' that are the core student body. No attempt is made to moderate them by the faculty. In this twisted world it is those who dissent from the liberal ideology that are treated as the ones who are attacking the free speech. I certainly did not feel like I could speak my mind there."
Lady Jennifer continued, "The importance of understanding the difference between adult and childlike decisions cannot be overstated. Marcia and Laura can attest to the fact that they were not nagged to not watch too much TV, nor not to eat too much candy, nor any of the other things that most people know they should not indulge too much in. They were given specific goals to achieve, and as long as they achieved them, they were given the freedom to choose how to organize their time. And these goals were not based on some desire to see our children jump through hoops, but specifically designed for each child to make them truly empowered adults.
"We, in this kingdom, have a saying that goes, 'You cannot raise a child to be an adult. It's like sending someone to the police academy for them to be a fireman.' This seems kind of odd, but think about it. You can't expect a child to act like a child, then on some wholly arbitrary date like their eighteenth birthday, expect them to act like an adult.
"We actively mature our children to adulthood by always placing goals on them, and then expecting them to achieve those goals. As they demonstrate that they can make the mature decisions to meet our expectations, we allow them to set their own goals, but in no way do we ease off on our expectations. We are always expecting our people, child or adult, to make decisions that increase the possibilities in their life.
"One of the areas that always causes conflict with new members of our kingdom is when we say you must do this or that in some certain way. It appears that we are doing nothing more than just wanting to control their life, but it is really done to allow them more freedom, because the more they do things in a way we understand, the more help we can provide for them.
"As an example, one of the many things you will learn from me while you are here is how we expect you to run your house when you're married.
"And by the way, only women of this kingdom own homes. From the outside it may appear that this manor belongs to my husband, but everyone in this kingdom knows it is mine.
"So when you're married, and have a home to run, we will expect you to clean and take care of it in a particular way. This may seem intrusive, and the way you would run it if left to your own devices may actually be better, but if you don't do it 'our way,' then we can't help you when you need it. If you do things our way, and if you get sick, or you and your husband would like to go on vacation, we can step in quite seamlessly, and take care of things.
"You will have far more freedom to do the things that really matter in your life if you work with us in trivial things like housekeeping. And besides, if what you want to do differently really is better, you can work through our system to achieve a change in how we do things. This also has the added benefit of insuring your improvements are enjoyed by everyone else."
Marcia spoke up at this, "You know, Mistress Jennifer, it wasn't until I was in high school, and would go over to other people's houses, and see how harried the mothers of my friends were before I understood how different our lives were. These mothers truly felt on their own, but I never saw anything like that at my home. It seemed that there was always someone over at my house helping out."
"Absolutely Marcia," replied Lady Jennifer. "It's one of the reasons almost no girl who has grown up in our kingdom has chosen to walk away from it. We women are very social creatures. It may be OK for men to live on their own, but women were never meant to. We need the assurance of a family support structure. My primary responsibility as a Lady within this kingdom is to make sure each and every mother knows she has family to count on."
The Rubanesque Sandra spoke up. In a deep southern accent she said, "Mistress Jennifer, you need to back up a minute. You said that men are not allowed to own homes. Only women can. Why is that? You know, it seems like every time I think I get my brain wrapped around what this kingdom is all about, something like this gets dropped on me, and throws me for a loop."
"I understand how you're feeling, Sandra," Lady Jennifer replied. "Most people spend the first six months feeling as though they are playing a game where someone is making up the rules as they go along. It's only natural.
"As for your question, it's not women that are the ones that own homes, it's mothers. There is a difference. Until you give birth, or adopt a child, you and your husband will not be allowed to have a home"
Lord Jacob lent his support to his wife. "And it goes far more than that. Men are also not allowed to own cars. You may think that the men of this kingdom have a thing for motorcycles, but the reality is that motorcycles are the only form of transportation that we men are allowed to have. This is something you need to consider when you accept a date with a man, because he will show up on a motorcycle to pick you up."
Lady Jennifer continued, "Every material thing about a family belongs to the mother, and this includes the children. This is because a mother's first loyalty after herself is her children, not her husband. She has primary responsibility, and hence ownership, over everything that is for the family.
"The role of the father is simply to support the mother. When a couple is married in this kingdom, the husband takes an oath to be the father of his wife's children. Whether the children are biologically related to the father is irrelevant."
Lord Jacob again supported his wife, "In fact, we have nothing but contempt for any man who believes it is important for him to be the biological father of his children. No child picks their parents, so the idea of measuring your love and devotion to the child based on blood is pathetic. Every child deserves a father who is wholly committed to the child, without any strings attached. And if you think about it, if blood were all that important, what chance does an adopted child have. Why even bother adopting?
"This is probably my biggest reason for why I reject monogamy in marriage. Most men demand fidelity in their wives specifically to be certain that her children are his. All this does is prove that they have no concept of what it means to be a father. They have implicitly stated that they care more about passing on their DNA to their children, rather than what really defines them, which are their values."
Everyone in the room was quiet while they considered what Lord Jacob said, and then Lady Jennifer broke the silence. "Words are very clumsy things. From what you have heard so far, it may lead you to believe that this kingdom is actually some kind of matriarchy. Don't let that fool you. Always remember that no matter what the words may seem to mean, this is a profoundly patriarchal kingdom. A man doesn't have any say in how the home is run, because he should not have to say anything. If he has to micro-manage what his wife is doing then there is something wrong with his leadership. While the children, home and car belong to the mother, the family belongs to the father. So don't ever forget that."
As Lady Jennifer was finishing what she was saying, three women entered the room pushing carts. Marcia noticed that they were wearing the same ridiculous maid uniforms that Laura was wearing earlier. She recognized each of them as women she knew within the kingdom, but the first one troubled her. She was Roberta Gonzalez, who was the wife of the Reverend for her church. Roberta would sometimes fill in for her husband when he was otherwise detained, so it just didn't seem right to see her so sexualized.
Lady Jennifer looked over to the carts, and saw that tonight's dinner was to be Southern style, with chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes with country gravy, fried okra and big fluffy biscuits. "Roberta, that looks wonderful," exclaimed Lady Jennifer.
"Thank you my Lady. I hope you and Lord Jacob enjoy it," Roberta replied.
After picking up the salad plates, and serving up the main course, she and the other women departed.
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/2pu3mn/next_generation_christian_kingdom_ch03_marcia