It’s a different scene tonight during the State of the Union. Few masks are visible. Both people behind the speaking President are women. And the speech starts with commentary of an ongoing war.

Yes many things are different tonight. But I always begin watching this annual speech with hope in my heart—that we can come together as a nation.

That has seemed far fetched in recent times, any American could tell you that. But it is not impossible. It can start tonight, if we choose.

What do we want to be as a country, as a society? Can we withstand hearing differing opinions, while continuing to find solutions together?

We can start tonight, if we choose. The words spoken tonight matter, but not as much as how we process them, and whether we choose to use our own voices in building a better world.