In the week since the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona that left six people dead and 14 injured, and in which Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was apparently targeted, several of our lead reporters and commentators here at The National have tried to make sense of the various political, social, and individual forces at play on that fateful day, and in the days that followed.

Was shooter Jared Loughner inspired to target Giffords by violent right-wing rhetoric from the likes of Sarah Palin and The Tea Party, Fox News commentators, or Arizona's own Republican politicians?  Is America's violent history, or its constitutionally-protected culture of gun ownership, to blame?  Or was this rampage solely the dark creation of a mentally ill individual -  his damaged mind directed by its own irrational and violent impulses, immune to the political messages or social mores around him?  And what, if anything, can be learned, and should be done to prevent another tragedy like it?

Collected here is The National's contribution to the ongoing effort to make sense of that sad day in Tucson, and what may follow in its wake.  Watch the videos, read the commentaries, and feel free to add your own point of view to this webpage.