Don’t take reality into account

“Don’t take reality into account” names a wartime principle of deliberate denial. In the account of a country half in enemy hands, it captures the perilous effort to sustain morale by withholding the full weight of events—and the danger that reassurance may blunt the very response it is meant to encourage.

Formulation and Context

The phrase appears after Comandante Ju-Ju reads his daily radio communiqué on the front. Its account is described as very optimistic, even though reality looks bad: half the country is in enemy hands, while the broadcast makes the MPLA seem on the brink of victory. The principle condenses this distance between the military situation and the public account of it.

Intended Function

The principle is intended to work like a sleeping pill. Its instructions are to avoid panic, doubt, and hysteria: optimism is treated as a means of keeping people steady. But the same sedation creates a practical problem. People who believe things are already going well may see no reason to exert themselves at the decisive moment.

Contradiction and Consequences

The account sets two appeals against each other: a call to defend the city and a communiqué suggesting that everything is as good as it can be. Rather than securing confidence, this contradiction disorients. The stated consequence is a loss of faith: when the decision comes, people may trust no one, and even their instinct for self-preservation may be blunted.

Narrative Significance

The expression is not simply a call to hope; it exposes the cost of optimism detached from circumstances. Concealing danger may forestall panic, yet it can also deprive people of the knowledge that would make urgent action intelligible. The principle thus turns reassurance into a source of risk: the less grave the situation is made to sound, the harder it may be to persuade anyone that the city must be defended.