The State of the Union speech is normally a family affair in our home. Everyone gathers round to listen to the President. This has been true, no matter who held the office.

Unfortunately, last night, my son and I had a function to attend at his school and we missed the majority of the speech.

However, we arrived home just in time to catch the last few minutes, the Republican response and the media recaps. I watched as much of the coverage and actual speech as I could muster after a busy day.

What struck me most was the fact that Members of the House and Senate co-mingled across their partisan aisles. This was astonishing to me.

For as long as I can remember, the Democrats were on one side and the Republicans were on the other. In recent years, this has evolved into an acrimonious atmosphere. The President’s party (whether R or D), would applaud loudly and stand more frequently while the opposition party would sit looking as if they were sucking on lemons.

Last year, as you may recall, one of the Republican Members of Congress actually booed the President. Seriously, he did. My philosophy has always been that one should show respect for the office of President, no matter their partisan affiliation. Furthermore, the State of the Union address is a critical element in our democracy. Listening to the President discuss critical issues of the moment is vital to understanding the position of government.

Many people consider it just a political event. Granted, from my review of this speech, it does seem that it was a kick-off for the 2012 Presidential election. Still, more cooperation was discussed in the speech than has been heard in the last couple of decades.

It seems that the shootings in Arizona launched the spirit of cooperation. While I am still grieving deeply about this assault on democracy, I am impressed that it created a sobering atmosphere in D.C. I really expected that to fade quickly and no lessons to be learned.

Watching those Members of Congress sit next to each other last night was truly exciting. If they can “cross the aisle”, even for one night, there is hope that they may govern together to help put America on a better course.

So, message from the real world of believers to Members of Congress – keep up the “Cross Partinization”. It may cause good ideas to flourish!