One of the things I loved most about law school was that we could vigorously debate all day long about legal principles, court cases and current events; go out for pizza and beer in the evening and debate some more; wake up the next day and do it all again, And still be friends.

Disagreeing didn’t make the other person wrong or evil. We didn’t call each other names or cast aspersions on their families or their heritage.

We believed that in the debates and disagreements, truth would emerge. That the pathway to truth was through debate and disagreement.

We’ve just been through a brutal election cycle. No matter your party affiliation or whether your candidates won or lost, you’re likely pretty exhausted. The text messages, emails, postcards, social media and television ads were relentless.

And the cruelty was abhorrent.

The cruelty among far too many candidates; and the cruelty in what ought to have been our civil discourse.

There are those who do not believe in our democracy; who wish to destroy it. We aid and abet those efforts when we sink to their level.

In law school, we stayed curious. We asked questions. We examined our own thinking. We were willing to learn, grow, evolve and change, We also sought to honor and respect one another.

I continue to think that this is how best to show up in business. And in life.

Cruelty is a zero sum game. Regardless of how you’re feeling right now, there’s an opportunity in the days and weeks ahead: meet disagreement with curiosity.

And be kind.