Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older. In
an apparent attempt on Saturday to assassinate Representative
Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, a troubled 22-year-old college
dropout shot 20 people, killing six of them. Both political
parties have now begun a “wrenching process of soul-searching
about the tone of political discourse,” wondering if a “lack of
civility contributed to the bloodshed in Tucson.” Do you think a
toxic political environment contributed to this tragedy? Do you
think this event will change the political culture in the United
States? Do we need to be more “civil” to each other? What do you
think politicians, the media and ordinary citizens could do to
ensure something like this doesn’t happen again? In “Bloodshed
Puts New Focus on Vitriol in Politics,” Carl Hulse and Kate
Zernike write: The shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords
and others at a neighborhood meeting in Arizona on Saturday set
off what is likely to be a wrenching debate over anger and
violence in Amer