Faith Lutheran students weigh in on current events following Tucson tragedy

By Dylan Scott

Monday, Feb. 7, 2011 | 1 p.m.

RELATED STORY: Local students weigh in on current events following Tucson tragedy

It's been a month since the horrific shooting in Tucson that left six people dead and 13 wounded. Among the injured was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head but is recovering.

The shooting's youngest victim was 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green. In a speech, President Barack Obama called for national harmony and eulogized Christina along with the other shooting victims.

Christina "showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age," Obama said. "I want to live up to her expectations, I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it, I want America to be as good as Christina imagined it."

As the nation continues to reflect on what happened, the Sun wanted to know what young people in our community are thinking about the future of America.

Their responses to the Sun's questions are condensed and edited for clarity.

Responses from students at Faith Lutheran are below. To read responses from other students around the valley, click here.

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T.J. Weiten is a senior enrolled in advanced-placement government at Faith Lutheran Junior-Senior High School in Summerlin.

How do you feel about a political process that is largely defined by its negativity?

I definitely don't like that we've gone in a direction with our discourse that feels so negative, but at the same time, I realize that negativity works. They don't run attack ads just because they want to be vicious; they do it because if they run them, it's going to really catch the attention of the people listening or watching. There's always going to be someone who disagrees with your opinion, and then you'll always find someone who really disagrees with your opinion and will be willing to fight and name-call. It's important to be informed on the issues so you can make your own decisions and ignore the background noise.

Alexis Tafoya is a senior enrolled in Advanced Placement government at Faith Lutheran.

What issues are important to you now, and in the future?

My mom is really encouraging me to know where I stand. She loved history and government in high school, but never really got involved with anything. I'm going to study biology and hopefully become a doctor, so I'm trying to be informed about health care and what the president's view is on it because it definitely will affect me as an adult, both personally and professionally. People our age should know who's in our government and how they're running our country. They need to learn and become engaged now because once they turn 18, they can start making decisions on who they want to keep in government and who they want out.