Patriots’ Kraft shares important message
Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette wrote a nice piece on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 3, “Patriot’s Owner Kraft Steps up, Stands Tall in Aftermath of Tree of Life Massacre”), about Robert Kraft attending services at Rodef Shalom in Shadyside to connect with the Tree of Life Congregation.
Mr. Kraft spoke from the Rodef Shalom bimah to both congregations, recalling the words of the prophet Zechariah, who said, “Not by might, not by power, but through my spirit.” Mr. Kraft’s message was clear for all to hear. He also is quoted as saying things such as, “...when I heard (about the shooting) ... I was heartbroken.” “We’re all brothers and sisters.” “We need to keep building bridges and let people know that we care about one another.” “When anyone of any faith is discriminated against, we all are.” “I don’t care what their ethnic background is or their skin color. We have to help people know we care.”
These are powerful and graceful words from a seemingly caring and generous man. And if you believe the news media, Mr. Kraft is also a serious Donald Trump supporter. Mr. Trump loves to build things, and always has; such as hotels, casinos, towers, resorts and other structures. Maybe it’s just me, but Mr. Trump doesn’t strike me as a builder of bridges, a connector of people, a brothers and sisters type guy, a particularly spiritual and caring man. So Mr. Kraft’s alliance with Mr. Trump perplexes me.
Perhaps after winning his sixth Super Bowl, now that he has some spare time, Mr. Kraft could direct some of his attention and energies to his friend, Mr. Trump, and share some of his feelings, insights, passions, sense of love and caring, his generally generous and gracious state of being and his spirit-over-might-and-power message. That could cause a shift and make a profound difference for Mr. Trump, which in turn could cause a shift and make a profound difference for the world. One person does have that kind of impact on people — Gandhi had it, so did Martin Luther King, Jr. — we all do.
LEE KANN Monroeville