Remember: Actions have consequences

It seems to be time to welcome a new word -- consequence -- into our vocabularies.

This word has been around for a long time, however. Apparently its meaning made people uncomfortable and it became unpopular to use it in conversation.

Its meaning is: Something that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition.

A logical consequence would be time spent in jail for a criminal offense; a natural consequence would be death following a heart attack.

Whether you like the word or not, please start thinking of the consequences we, as a nation, now face.

We are involved in a war which has resulted in the deaths of many military personnel. Others have returned to America without limbs or worse yet, with post traumatic stress disorder.

Were these consequences considered when this undertaking began?

In the streets of our large cities, senseless killings occur daily. It seems that instant gratification, in the form of stealing money for the killer to use or just for the thrill of killing, has become the norm.

What is wrong with America's citizens? Have we all succumbed to the seductiveness of TV ads which preach "buy now, no money needed, never suffer pain again?"

Common sense should tell us to think about the consequences of our actions, not just for immediate results, but for the future of civilization.

Patricia D. Herrmann

Arlington Heights