From a Wall Street Journal column by Daniel Henninger headlined “Words That Cause Catastrophes”:

Are we ready yet to re-adopt the tried-and-true guide to life known as a mother’s wisdom?

Our current banking panic, and other tumultuous events of recent years, bring to mind one of mother’s good ideas: Think before you speak.

We know that in an era of instant media transmission ill-chosen words move well beyond a personal problem for the speaker. Loose talk can put in motion national and international catastrophes that may wreck lives, economies and political systems.