The first text came from my son during school hours back on February 8. “Ukraine is going to war with Russia?” It sparked a conversation about international policy and spurred my son to start following the growing tensions.

After Russia invaded, I got another text. “Why isn’t the US helping Ukraine? I think it’s kind of dumb that we keep retreating from any fights.” That sparked a longer conversation about nuclear weapons and modern war. 

On Friday, he told me that Ukrainian President Zelensky is the bravest man alive and he was looking for ways that the west could help him. I explained the sanctions on Russia and weapons being provided to Ukrainian forces, but he still said he wished somebody could send soldiers to the country to help stop the Russian advance.

Saturday morning, I went into his room and he was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. I asked him if he was awake and how he was doing. He replied solemnly, “I’m worried about Ukraine.” 

I thought about things we could do and it hit me. We have a large fence that fronts a major street in our town. I suggested we paint a Ukrainian flag on the fence and that seemed to pique his interest. We bought paint and figuratively planted our flag. We might not be able to send aid, but we could show support.  

As we painted our flag on the fence, people cheered. One woman stopped for a photo. Cars honked their support. I realized that my son’s passion and interest was shared by a lot of people. When we posted the photo of us with our creation, people of all political persuasions liked it. 

The event that is uniting our dangerously divided country is a war more than 6,000 miles away. The hero is a former comedian who now leads a nation under attack by a Russian dictator with delusional aspirations. He’s willing to give his life and the entire nation is arming itself against a pending occupation by a much more powerful force. 

America is cheering for democracy over autocracy. We’re rooting for the underdog against a regional bully that has invaded its neighbors for centuries with little pushback from the West. Ukraine’s struggle may turn out to be short-lived, but it’s a righteous cause, nonetheless. We’ve found something to support, regardless of our politics. 

And it’s happening in democracies across the world. Demonstrations against the war and in support of Ukraine have broken out across Europe but also in Central America, the Middle East, South Africa, and, most importantly, Russia itself. Even Putin’s allies in places like Hungary and the Czech Republic have condemned the invasion. While they might not trust the West, they remember Russian invasions of their own countries in 1956 and 1968, respectively. 

The broad support has given our political leaders the backbone to enact economically crippling sanctions on Russia. The Biden administration is showing the power of leading coalitions and war diplomacy. We’re strengthening our alliances instead of eschewing them. We’re building stronger relationships instead of threatening to abandon them.

We’re seeing a rejection of the world Donald Trump tried to thrust on us. Putin is not to be admired, but to be scorned. The world of Fox News and OAN that praised autocrats like Orban in Hungary is scrambling to turn around. Tucker Carlson, whose support of Putin has been broadcast on Russian state media , is now trying to change his tune. Republicans who praised Putin as a strong leader and derided Ukraine are suddenly voicing support for the beleaguered former Soviet Republic. Trump himself, who called Putin’s excursion into Ukraine “genius,” is trying to walk back his statements.   

For Biden, it presents an opportunity. He needs a gamechanger, and this could be it. On Tuesday, he delivers his State of the Union speech as Leader of the Free World united against Putin’s tyranny. He’s getting high marks for building a growing coalition that now includes former Eastern Bloc nations and increasingly isolates the Russian autocrats. He’s proved wrong the skeptics who didn’t believe the West would actually impose tough sanctions. And he’s committed to support the Ukrainian military with powerful defensive weapons. 

He’s leading NATO nations and beyond to create an untenable situation for Russia. Even if Putin can take Kyiv and scatter the government, he won’t be able to easily occupy a country that is united in believing Russia is a hostile invader, especially one with a populace armed to the teeth and with a steady flow of weapons coming in from neighboring states. No puppet government is likely to survive without a prolonged and deadly civil war. 

It’s not often that foreign policy influences elections, but it does happen. Right now, the events in Ukraine are bigger than just a skirmish or disagreement. They present us with a clear good versus evil situation and they highlight long-held American values. Putin invaded, unprovoked, a free country with a democratically elected government and believed nobody would hold him accountable. He was wrong. 

Now, Biden can take credit for leading the world to unite against tyranny and support democracy and freedom. The Trumpists who have flirted with autocracy are finding themselves alienated from the great American middle. And so are leftist who have urged the US to leave NATO. 

Biden has the attention of an America united, at least temporarily, because of a conflict overseas and he has a platform on Tuesday to speak to his country. If he can articulate a vision linking his success in uniting the world against a tyrant to a better future for America, he might be able to reverse his fortunes. He will need to convince the people that we are on a path to healing and the sacrifices we need to make to get past this pandemic pale in comparison the ones being made by Ukrainians. 

I believe the country needs to hear a message of hope and action in a time turmoil. I know one thirteen year old boy who will be listening.