Hey, Man. Do You Have Change for the HST?

I recently spoke to a friend who lives in Toronto. I asked him about the anti-HST activities taking place in Ontario. He had no idea what I was talking about. I was shocked. Anyone who lives in B.C. is well aware of the much publicized and strongly supported anti-HST petitions circulating throughout the province. Why here and not there? Why this issue and not the hundreds of others that cross our radar every year?

Remember Dr. Martin Luther King's historic “I Have a Plan” speech? No? That’s because he never made such an address. He understood that a revolutionary idea is one that yanks at the heart, evokes emotion, and incites passions. Logical blueprints for reaching rational goals just don’t cut it when you’re trying to whip a crowd into an inspired frenzy. People will get behind a dream. Start merely planning, and you’re on your own.



Just looking back throughout human history (Jewish and otherwise), it’s clear that any movement started for personal gain–fame, money, wives etc.–was ultimately dwarfed by those launched with loftier goals such as of freedom, empowerment, and justice. It turns out that former B.C. Premier Bill Vander Zalm is illustrating an idea found in Pirkei Avos:

“Any argument for the sake of heaven will endure; an argument not for
the sake of heaven will not endure.”

If you are fighting for mere things, the fire in your belly tends to go out when you get what you want. But a fight to promote an idea takes on a life of its own. It goes far beyond a simple initiative; It is the stuff of revolutions.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead may have said it best:

“Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the
world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

So, whether we look at issues such as women’s rights, ecology, civil rights, religious freedom or–on a very current and local level–crushing the HST, we see that passionate people with a strong opinion and higher purpose are the most effective agents of change.


Be the change,

Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu

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