Dear Silent Majority

Dear Silent Majority,

We need you to speak up now.

If somehow, through these months of mass chaos you have managed to keep quiet, please say something.

Because for months now, we've all listened to the screams of those who demand to be heard. The squeaky wheel is the one who gets the oil, right?

For those of us in the law enforcement community, it's been years of this kind of anti-cop rhetoric. Maybe not quite as loud and maybe not quite as constant, but still there, nonetheless.

This year, since the legitimate outrage over the George Floyd incident, there have been thousands of cops injured in attacks, both at riots and in ambushes. That part of the outrage is not okay. One of the more recent attacks on officers has received more time in the news spotlight than most. In it, two Los Angeles sheriff's deputies were shot in the head while they sat in their patrol car. Protesters proceeded to block hospital entrances shouting, "I hope they die."

And yet despite that despicable evil, there's been mostly silence about it.

Maybe I'm just an officer's wife, who after months of hearing from friends, family members, and broader society, both Christians and not, all kinds of anti-police propaganda am just angry. Maybe I, too, am outraged, but for different reasons. I want to believe deep down in my soul that America is better than this. That my fellow Americans know how wrong this is. That the Church will rise to the occasion and denounce this evil that is overcoming our country.

Yet when I listen for them to speak up and say something, anything, about it...it's just crickets.

Let me tell you. The silence is deafening.

The support our officers supposedly have from the silent majority is unheard of.

Literally.

We can't hear you.

And we need to. They need to know you have their back. Just as they have yours.

But why do you, in particular need to speak up? Because generally the voices of those in the law enforcement community are discredited as only being supportive of it because they're part of it. I personally can attest to this. It's an ignorant and unfair assumption to make, especially considering that law enforcement is closer to this controversy than just about anybody and therefore probably has more perspective to offer on the issue. And the only other voices that seem to be saying anything are those on the other side, who are often condoning the violence against officers and even encouraging it. We need, you, silent majority, to say something.

In conversations I've had with many, I've heard it said continually that people are just outraged and that they only support the "good stuff" of this current cultural movement. They genuinely believe there is an issue with the police. And why shouldn't they? The media pushes a pretty strong anti-police narrative and people buy into it because there seems to be no other viable options presented. Law enforcement voices are automatically dismissed as "biased", regardless of the validity of what they have to say. And only one outraged side is being given the stage to speak. And of course, they claim that every incident involving a cop and a black person must be motivated by skin tone. No other valid reason could have anything to do with what devolves in those highly publicized cases, could it?

Yes. it. can.

and. it. does.

almost. every. single. time.

I say "almost" because I am not so blinded by a love for the badge that I fail to acknowledge that instances of racism among cops certainly do exist. But they're few. And they're far between. Probably a lot farther than you think they are.

But you probably don't know that if you've not seen the other side of things, as our family has. Most who are outside of law enforcement simply don't know. Because unless you've been intentional about doing your research, you probably don't realize that the real life numbers simply don't back the media narrative. There have been numerous studies in recent years about this very thing. Roland Fryer at Harvard set out to study this, theorizing that he would prove the "racist cops" narrative true, but was shocked to disprove his own theory. (Read his study here.) Joe Cesario at Michigan State has also done studies. (Find it here.) And there are others out there, if you do your due diligence and dig a little.

The findings show not so much a systemic issue as they do a sin issue on the parts of individual officers. You can't accurately claim that something is systemic when statistically it's an infinitesimally small issue. And while departments across our country have been and will continue to improve their policies, it's simply not realistic to expect that all problems can completely go away. Because we're humans. And officers are humans. And humans are fallen beings, prone to sin. No human system can hope to be perfect, nor free from the problem of sin. It simply can't happen. Not so long as humans are involved. And not while we're living in this broken world we're in.

Unfortunately, even the news, which was once noted for being a reliable source, tends to get this wrong. Time and again, they've pushed "white cop versus black civilian" stories and been caught spreading falsehoods about them. If they even do a retraction, the damage usually can't be undone. Research a lot of the high profile police/race cases and you'll find the facts don't fit the narrative that the news gave. Michael Brown and Ferguson is probably the most famous case of this, and years later, the lies about "hands up, don't shoot" are still the prominent belief held about what happened. It's a shame that these days the public has to fact check the sources by which we used to be able to check facts. But if we don't do that, we tend to get swept up into the narrative of whatever they tell us, believing, rather gullibly so, that we're not being fed lies. This "systemically racist police" lie in particular, however, seems to have taken America hook, line, and sinker. And if we don't say something. If we don't speak out. If we don't disprove the dishonest things being thrown around as truth, then it's just going to continue to digress.

This is where the broad societal belief that the police are "systemically racist" leads us. It is the logical conclusion that good officers cannot exist in an evil system and therefore officers ought to be eradicated by any means necessary. Never mind the fact that such an idea in and of itself evil and based on feelings, not facts. If the silent majority doesn't start speaking up, then officers and their families will continue to be targeted. That's not a large leap to make. Even less newsworthy than ambushes on officers is the fact that people threaten and harm their families. My husband has had multiple verbal threats made against his family. Slashed tires, spray painted hate messages, and other vandalism has been known to happen at some officers' homes. In addition to the ambush attacks on officers this past week, the home of 2 officers and their baby that was peppered with gunfire.

When will it stop?

If you think that most officers are good, say so. If you know that targeting law enforcement is wrong, speak up. If you feel that officers' families shouldn't be harassed, say something. If you believe that killing cops because they're cops is evil, don't be silent. If you claim to not condone it, then you need to condemn it. We need you to speak against this. Christians, I'm talking to you, too. Especially you.

You know that phrase that has been floating around recently? It's so cliche and ridiculous, but it's been ringing in my mind just now as I type this. We've heard the other side throw it around some.

"Silence is violence."

Seem extreme? I think it does, at least when it supports a narrative that has been proven time and again to be false. But when you flip the coin to the other side and people who know the truth aren't speaking it, and society's lies are injuring and killing cops because that's now been deemed a "worthy" cause, the phrase seems to bear a bit more relevance.

When the lie that All Cops Are Bastards (ACAB) has become so prominent that people start hunting them for sport, shouldn't that give us pause? Shouldn't that cause us to rethink our choice to say nothing? These lies have become so prevalent because they've gone uncontested for too long. It may not be headline news for months on end. People won't protest over it. Cities won't be looted and burned. But cops are getting killed.

And yet the silence persists.

Perhaps I misspoke. It didn't just now start. People have been coming after cops for a while. But it is gaining popularity and momentum. You probably didn't hear about it because if it even breaks the news anymore, it's but a brief blip, but there's been other ambushes on officers since the atrocious one I mentioned earlier. In less than a week, there have been multiple officer ambushes. These used to be considered isolated incidents, but lately they're becoming less and less so. And in the past, people in the public spoke out against these attacks on officers. Unfortunately, that too has been happening less and less.

How many more officers have to be ambushed before we say "stop!"? How much longer does law enforcement have to listen to the public chastise them for acting to defend their own lives? Then again, it would seem that this societal movement wants the cops left defenseless so they don't put up a fight the next time someone comes after them. That was certainly true in some recent high profile cases where riots ensued after officers defended themselves against armed criminals, some of which were on the attack.

I'm not trying to say that those who don't speak up and rebuke this current societal evil are guilty, as the people who are actually carrying out these ambushes are the guilty ones. But I am saying that this is the logical conclusion that the ideas driving this great divide lead to. And if there are no dissenting voices, especially in the church, this evil ideology will continue to take hold over more and more. If we hesitate to speak the truth because we fear no one will hear, then literally no one will hear. Because if you don't speak truth (especially when it's an unpopular one) into situations, all that people will hear are the lies. Those lies will become ingrained. One thought will lead to another, and then one thing will lead to another. And that's how we end up like this. That's how the ideological war escalates to real life battles where blood is shed. We've got to contest this. And we need the voice of the "silent majority" to help us.

Matthew 7 tells us that false prophets will come as wolves in sheep's clothing. And that we will recognize them by their fruits. I ask you, fellow believer...are these attacks against law enforcement and their families not the fruits of this movement? 1 Peter 5:8 says that the adversary (the devil) is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour. You don't have to dig too deep into the current cultural war to find that the wolves and lions are fattened from their feasting. Yet their appetite remains as if they're still famished.

"Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits."

Matthew 7:20

Ephesians 4 urges us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, and to bear with one another in love. It calls us to unity and to peace. Verses 14-16 tell us, "...so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Verses 25-27 go on to say, "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." To have that unity and peace we desire, we have got to discredit any and all of the devil's deceit by speaking truth to situations and building one another up in love. Staying silent while evil lies from the enemy are taking over society, to the point that people are being attacked and killed does nothing to accomplish that.

"Therefore, having put away falsehood,

let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor,

for we are members of one another."

Ephesians 4:25-26

There's many Christians who advocate against ever getting "political" outside of a personal conversation. (I've witnessed the discomfort of some even when you save the "politics" for personal conversations.) And quite honestly, I don't think it's the politics they shy away from so much as it's anything remotely controversial or that could be considered divisive. But is it really loving to not speak the truth just because it won't be well received? I think not.

If we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything.

Indeed, it's happening.

Church, we're losing the ideological battle. And right now, by being silent, we're continuing to give up ground. I'm not necessarily advocating that we stand for the right or left side of the political aisle (even though I myself do sway one particular way). But what I am saying is that we should be standing for what's right, by God's standard of right. We should be calling out evil regardless of who it's happening to. We should be countering the narrative. Because Christ came. And He countered it for us first.

Christ Himself broke the narrative. He loved the world so ridiculously much that he came to redeem us. To break the cycle of sin. To let grace enter in. It wasn't popular. And it wasn't particularly well received by His society. It cost Him everything.

Yet He was convinced that the world needed Him to bring them the truth. Because the world's "truth" wasn't working out so well. It didn't work then. And it doesn't work now. Jesus came that the world may know the real truth -- His truth -- and be set free because of it.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us about who we're warring with, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." It goes on to encourage us to put on the whole armor of God, which includes wearing truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, and salvation upon us in the midst of this world's battle.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood..."

Ephesians 6:12

Ultimately God's truth matters the most. Any gospel that isn't of Him is false and a fraudulent lie of the enemy. And we as His people, are here to proclaim His truth to a lost and hurting world. James 5 reminds us that whoever brings back a sinner who has wandered from the truth will save his soul from death. Everyone on all sides of this cultural divide needs that truth. People are killing and being killed because they don't have the truth of God in them. Who are we to shirk back and not speak up when the evidence of our shattered world is screaming its need for a Savior louder than ever before? God created us and called us for such a time as this, dear Christian. It's time we rise up.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 instructs us to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Indeed that time has come. The world needs the truth.

There is also something that should be said about the facts. Especially regarding these issues that are tearing society apart. Because they do matter. Even when they're unpopular, the facts matter. The fact is that policing as a whole is wildly misunderstood by much of the public. And little effort has been made to bring understanding to it, which is, to some extent, the fault of both sides. Whatever side you are on of this thing (or any thing, for that matter), you should be seeking to have an opinion informed by facts and differing points of view. Otherwise, you don't have any logical reasoning to back why you hold to that belief instead of the alternative one(s). Most issues are multi-faceted. They just aren't as simple as black and white. Even when it comes to policing.

So please, whether you're part of the silent majority or the noisy minority, dig in. Do your due diligence to the issues. Be able to defend your position. But ultimately, be able to defer to God as the definer of truth and of that which is right. And then do your part to make sure the world hears that. Whether they will receive it well or not, they still need it. Because for too long, too many have been deferring to the devil instead. All he's interested in is stealing, killing, and destroying. And if you haven't noticed, there's an awful lot of that going on.

*I want to thank our church for being willing to have hard conversations regarding race and policing from a Biblical perspective. It means a lot to us as a law enforcement family that those difficult subjects are being addressed. As a whole though, it seems that broader Christianity in America is giving up the Gospel of Jesus in exchange for the gospel of social justice, critical theory, and Black Lives Matter.

**On a practical note, law enforcement really is under attack from seemingly all sides. They really do need citizens to speak up on their behalf, as cities are currently caving to the mob mentality. Please consider how you can back cops in your local area by contacting local government officials and leaders. Do your research. Go on ride alongs. Attend a citizens' academy. Gain some perspective from the police point of view. If you go in with an open mind, I promise your eyes will be opened in some way, regardless of which side of the race/police debate you find yourself on.