It’s hard to believe it’s 54 years since the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King. He is my hero. I often wonder what life would look like today if he had lived. Such a waste and such a tragedy. I wonder what he would say about what he would see if he were alive today about the state of the country, of our democracy, of the John R Lewis Voting Rights Act.

I think of him everyday because I have a quote from him on my desk. It reminds me no matter how humble the task at hand, that what is important is that one does a good job at it. I try to instill these ideas in my first grader.

“A man (or woman) should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of Heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.”

Literally this piece of paper has been on my desk since I went to college to remind myself to do my job to the best of my ability. It would be great if all of our politicians, especially those of the highest offices of the land, considered this quote and did their jobs well and if they condemned what happened January 6 and decided to work together to provide a better America for all. A hope for the next 54 years.