Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove avoided the road less traveled on Thursday by failing to take a public stand on the issue of changing the Mississippi state flag.

Musgrove, in his first &uot;state of the state&uot; address to the Mississippi Legislature hastily brushed aside the flag issue by saying, at the outset, that the issue should be put to a vote of the Mississippi electorate.

Expressing neither his opinion, nor his recommendation, the same governor who appointed a high-profile commission to study — and gather statewide input — the flag issue, failed to take advantage of the opportunity to lead.

Instead, he followed the path set by the Mississippi Legislature — which passed on dealing with the controversial issue by recommended it go to the voters.

No one, it seems, wants to make a stand for what is right.

And, in the end, those same Mississippi voters will suffer, simply because we are wasting precious time, energy and resources — statewide referendums are not cheap — on a divisive issue that needs, more than anything, a voice of strong leadership to guide our state beyond the brink of dissension.

Instead, by passing the political hot potato on to the voters, Musgrove, the lawmakers and, yes, even that high-profile commission which has reneged on its initial call for a change in the flag design, have guaranteed that the furor, and focus, of our voters will continue to be consumed by this unproductive debate.

It seems that road less traveled — the road of leadership — remains too intimidating in the state of Mississippi.

And that’s a shame.