“You’re just happy to be here, aren’t you?” I looked to the tour I was leading through the U.S. Capitol to see who had said this to me. It was the boy who had just started fourth grade. He was right.

He was also delighted to be there, himself. As we stepped into the Rotunda—the actual, iconic dome of the Capitol and the hub of its breathtaking art—his eyes shot directly up to the fresco at the dome’s center. Entitled “The Apotheosis of Washington,” I explained that the painting portrayed a heavenly George Washington donned in purple, and that below him, a host of Roman gods featured alongside American historical figures.