KidSpirit

Dancing in the Rain

Creation and DestructionGlobal Beat

As it rains outside my bedroom window, I wonder. If, hypothetically, there is a God, what is his purpose for sending us this November rain? Is it to cleanse the air of this vile smog that makes visibility before 8:00 AM virtually impossible? I would’ve given that answer without hesitation a while ago, for what other reason could God have for giving us something that heralds creation with each torrent but to purify the earth?

But, while in July this explanation could have sufficed, it is November now, and sadly it no longer applies. Rain mingles with toxicity in the air and creates something even more poisonous. There is no dancing in the streets during these showers, because this is acid rain. Why would God send that?

My community, defined as my peers and those within my immediate surroundings, approaches creativity (creativity that leads to the creation of new ideas and challenging concepts) similarly to how the weather channel advises us to approach acid rain: stay away from it. Given the vastness of my city, Lahore, my community would be expected to be almost rife with the untouched and newly created. But in an environment as stifled by wealth and social order like that of my community, there is little room for creativity. Fresh ideas are usually frowned upon unless well within the boundaries of acceptability. And this sentiment is subtly reflected in the behaviors of the awkwardly self-described “progressive” youth that surround me. Their attitudes to the musical culture of the inner city, homosexuality, feminine sexuality, and mental health, along with their unwillingness to allow anyone to challenge them, are epitomized in their smallest actions and statements — “eww, that’s so gay.”

My opinion has always been that anyone can be whomsoever they wish, including raging hypocrites. But my disgust lies with the overall stance this community takes to change, their perception of creativity, creation, alien concepts, and challenges. Many of them run from it like they run from acid rain. “Progressiveness” as a term is enthusiastically embraced until its meaning is clarified. And creativity is shunned unless it exists within the narrow, indefinable limits of acceptability.

Perhaps we need more time. But when, when will we break from our cocooned existences and recognize that the world is changing and we can be either on the side of that change or against it? Why must we wait for our children or their children to do what we can do now? Why must my generation be yet another epitome of a bigoted, unjust society? I fail to understand that concept. Creativity leads to creation, which is necessary to the progression of life, and no amount of sidestepping can change that. Perhaps, if we agreed to dance in the rain of change and creation for just a few minutes, we could avoid the flood of revolution that is bound to arrive soon enough. Frankly, if no one gets around to it, I’m about to initiate the revolution myself.

Zainab Hasan is a 15-year-old who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. She hopes to one day become a lawyer and reform the legal system of her country. At the moment, however, she contents herself with gluing herself to her headphones and reading a healthy mix of John Green and F. Scott Fitzgerald (and far too much depressing poetry).

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn