MIZ-ZOO

The events that unfolded this week on Missouri's flagship university are an embarrassment for the state and a textbook example of just how to mishandle a situation of student unrest.

But the events go far beyond a simple embarrassment.

The eyes of the nation were on the Columbia campus this week as minority students protested a series of racially-tinged events that eventually led to the ouster of the University president.

The fallout continues.

The reality is that the spontaneous protests were perhaps a bit less than spontaneous.

Organizers with Hands Up United from Ferguson aided in the student protest to help organize during the upheaval.

Mizzou officials made so many mistakes, it's hard to know just where to begin.

Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel stood united with his football team and against the school administration. His intervention against the administration gave the movement the legitimacy that it needed.

For that, Pinkel should have been fired on the spot. He should be commended for standing up against any form of racism. But to side against those who hired and supported him is disgraceful.

University President Tim Wolfe resigned in the face of the protest and that move empowered the protestors even further.

So now, clearly the shots at the university are being called by student protestors who yearn for that special safe space to vent their grievances.

Rest assured, the University of Missouri will suffer negative consequences in the form of enrollment and a decline in financial support.

And we regretfully hope that is exactly what happens.

The majority of society is now being bullied by a band of progressive activists who seek to rewrite history and mandate political correctness at the expense of civility.

Racial slurs are repugnant and unacceptable in today's society. Period!

And those in positions of power should loudly condemn any and all activities that smack of racism.

But...

There is a much larger movement underway in this once-great nation and the episodes at Mizzou are just the latest.

There will be more.

There is but one solution and only one solution.

The whole of society - once called the Silent Majority - must remain silent no more.

Until and unless voices of reason speak up and speak loudly, the bullies will win.

But most of those voices - including far too many at Mizzou - remain silent out of fear. Fear of being unfairly labeled because you oppose a certain group.

If the loudest voices rule the day, then you have to be loud.

What a sad state of affairs that we have degenerated to this point in our nation's history.

If America is to survive and continue our place in the history of mankind, the time is now to regain the civility, the spirit of unity and the compassion that has marked this nation.

But we must not be bullied by those who seek to sow the seeds of dissent and distrust.

If we remain silent today, tomorrow we will be silenced whether we like it or not.

And if those we entrust with voicing the concerns of most Americans choose to remain silent, then we need new leaders who will engage, who will fight and who will restore sanity in a world increasingly insane.