To a Brighter Future Raising the Barr Weekly Memo: Issue 304

How should I open this week’s newsletter?

With the tragic events of last week that have shaken our nation to its core, it’s important for us to not dwell on the horror but to look beyond and find a way to heal this great nation.

As you know, I’m an immigrant to this land, in the religious minority, where the opportunities for success, growth and freedom, personal and religious, were many. I spoke virtually no English when I arrived, and through years of schooling and hard work, I’ve mastered the language, mastered a business and honed my passion for music, photography, technology and the web. Only here, in this place, were all those things possible.

My gratitude is immeasurable for all that I’ve been gifted with the past 40 years in America.

So where do we go from here?

We reach out to one another; we hope, we listen and we pray that this too shall pass.

The Muslim community of Pittsburgh has donated over $200,000 to their Jewish friends to help bury and rebuild the lives of the grieving Jews. They’ve pledged to walk with them, literally, to their synagogues, to the grocery store and to hold their hands when they are fearful. That is love.

I know that we will go from this darkness back into the light. We can and we will. It begins with each and every one of us. Here’s to a future that is brighter than ever.