Dear Editor,

The choices we make in life have consequences. Michael Brown made some bad choices, beginning with stealing cigars and roughing up the owner. Then when the cop asked him to get on the sidewalk instead of being in the middle of the street, he decides to attack the cop.These were two bad choices he made that resulted in losing his life. Businesses were looted and burned and the poor policeman doesn't have a job to support his family.Our president didn't have the common sense to point out when this first happened that Brown made his own bad choices and tragically lost his life. Children must learn that acting like a thug does not help you to grow up and be successful in life.Perhaps we should go back to the days when families went to church and would use strict discipline in raising their children. We knew if we didn't walk the straight and narrow path, there were harsh consequences at home. The result was productive, successful citizens instead of having a criminal record.Then Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan incite the black community to riot and make more bad choices. Does this country really need another civil war?I am tired of reading of shootings, beatings and drugs in the paper every day. Parents must instill in their children to get an education, get a job, don't commit crimes and do not have children before you are ready to take on the responsibility of providing a stable home to raise them.We have to get back to God and fill our churches the way they used to be. Only with his help will we be able to change the hearts and minds of our nation so we can all enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.May God Help Us,T. WalckBowmanstown