The Global Citizen: Watch your mouth, Richmond!

Words are dangerous, man. I think people have gotten into more trouble for things they've said than things they've done.

That's a powerful thought. President Ayers' predecessor knows that better than most.

His comment, "The entering quality of our student body needs to be much higher if we are going to transform bright minds into great achievers instead of transforming mush into mush," in 2007, brought his tenure to a swift and hurried close.

Ill-chosen words are dangerous regardless of how high up the chain you are.

In 2010 Gen. Stanley McChrystal and a number of his aides made remarks implying strong criticism of the performance of Vice President Joe Biden.

Shortly thereafter, McChrystal tendered his resignation after personally apologizing to the vice president for the sentiments.

Americans however, aren't the only ones sensitive to poorly chosen words. On Sept. 10, Japan's industry minister resigned from his position after an off-color joke about radiation received national attention, drumming up outrage among victims and their families.

The words were delivered during a survey of an area of Fukushima that was supposedly exposed to radiation when a nuclear plant collapsed following the earthquake and tsunami in March.

While speaking with a reporter, the minister, Yoshio Hachiro, commented that Fukushima was "a town of death" and later made a joke that his clothes were probably covered in radiation.

Unsurprisingly, the inhabitants of that town, forced out of their homes and robbed of normalcy were not amused.

Were the words perhaps taken out of context? Maybe. Perhaps he was remarking in a solemn tone lined with genuine grief that the town once characterized by bustling life is now shrouded in death.

Perhaps his words were twisted by his political enemies. That is very possible, but the fact of the matter is that it doesn't really matter what he meant when he said it. At the end of the day, those words were his undoing.

Just as words uttered before thought can destroy careers, words can be tools of inspiration and pave the way into a brighter tomorrow.

A trip to the National Mall in Washington D.C. will find you in the shadow of one of the nation's greatest civil rights leaders, Martin Luther King Jr. His words ushered in a new era and addressed the problems of inequality prevalent at the time.

There's no argument that words are double-edged swords. They are simultaneously our greatest tool and our biggest liability.

Choose them carefully and don't be so hasty to just blurt out whatever comes to mind. Remember that the more you achieve in life the more your words will be scrutinized by those around you.

Whether you live in a nation where free speech rules or in one where it is government-regulated, consider your words wisely; because once they leave your lips, they can never be taken back.