I watched the last season of The Bear yesterday, and once again, I was blown away by their dedication to service –and more than that, their lack of resentment. If they ever blamed the customers, I must have missed it. More than that, they made their service to the customers into an art form. They made service an act of joy.

“But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth.” — Martin Luther King

We’ve all experienced it, where someone doing what we carelessly consider a menial job does his or her job with such care, with such spirit, it’s a privilege to watch.

It reminds me of a courtly retired gentleman I knew who was so active in his small town. When anyone needed anything done, they’d give it to Bill. A petition to get a bench at the trolley stop? Bill made it happen.

I found later that he was one of the courtroom guards in Nuremberg, assigned because he learned to speak German from his parents. When I pressed him, he demurred, saying, “I don’t like to talk about that.”

So many everyday heroes, doing whatever they can to be of service.

Now compare and contrast with the Trump administration.