Solar Powered

But then they cry at the movies or when they hear a song. They want catharsis but if it’s due to fiction then they aren’t compelled to act on it; it’s just a story. Fiction-derived emotion could be harnessed, like solar energy. Collect, store, use when needed. Change happens in small, unexpected ways.

Street hip-hop doesn’t unquestionably pilot revolutionary change. It may mean that a boy has a way to get out aggression, and has something that he’s good at and somebody likes his rhyme and positive feedback feels good. Maybe this contributes to less conflict with his girlfriend. Maybe she’s able to talk to him more, maybe she gains more confidence and feels safe in saying ‘not without a condom’ and maybe he starts taking pride in that.

Maybe.

And maybe that’s social change.

And maybe revolutions are minute, like the world turning – you can’t feel it but it’s happening every day all the time. And maybe these small things mean that the world turns in a way that lets the most sun in and keeps the trees growing up and the rivers flowing out to the seas and maybe these are the revolutions we need: constant, unglamorous, quietly vital.