People want to know how to live in an authoritarian regime and not understanding will have to read to find out so I’m ahead of the game a bit. Dehumanization and brutality—stealing of the soul. Breakage of the heart—Indifference or hatred toward the world—disbelief or the secrets of history whispering in your ear—disbelief and the jolt of the truth then have coffee—know the certain goods you can no longer afford—like strawberries—it’s all crumbling down—how does one react? I don’t know—the Buddhist mindset—the middle way with fires burning on one side—floods on the other—walk as though you’ve known this moment—before—there is an uncanny familiarity.

Stay alert—stay calm—learn about the Portuguese dictatorship—how poor the people were—you’ve seen the pictures—purge the heart of the memories of what it used to be like as you wade through thick substance that is the present—Jose Muñoz thought the early 2000s was the prison house—just wait for what they have in store now—dream of Denmark but don’t have hopes. Do hot exercise in a small wooden box—imagine it is the womb from which you will emerge crying into a new reality. Make peace with your ghosts. The Venezuelan immigrant who tries to make a deal with Trump while live streaming his wife’s deportation. Imagine that you are that man that you are that woman. You can’t understand, S., unless you are living through it—unruly. Uneven. Jagged. T.—Paint a sign. March in the street. Don’t forget to hydrate.

All of this has happened before. No one remembered the war. All the survivors are dead.