Finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen

Finalists Adam Lambert and Kris Allen help illustrate how people with cultural differences can make beautiful music together.
The two-part finale of hit series "American Idol," which begins tonight, is the most talked-about thing in television right now, partly because this season's contenders, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, are exciting performers. But it's also because they have done something unexpected: Their unlikely friendship has presented America with a new vision of itself, beyond the deepest divisions of the culture wars.