Our culture is so divided that people place disagreement with others on the same level as intolerance or hatred.
In contrast to that attitude are two American forefathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who demonstrated how to debate issues vigorously while treating one another with respect and civility.
Adams and Jefferson stood shoulder-to-shoulder through the American Revolution. But in the years following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, political differences made them bitter rivals. Yet, through it all, they decided they were Americans first and political opponents second.
