This article was written by Joy Villa.

Our great country is hurting right now.

There is the rampant anti-police sentiment that’s ripping apart so many of our communities and cities. There is the brutality of the recent rioting, including black people killed — and the wanton destruction of so many businesses — including black-owned businesses. And there are the stringent lockdowns and quarantines in so many places because of the coronavirus from which we’re only beginning to emerge.

In times such as these, I reach out to God for comfort and grace. He has given me not only the strength to carry on, but the strength to speak out.

I support black lives. I support police lives. These are sometimes the same thing.

I’m extremely upset about George Floyd’s death. We cannot have one more black man killed by bad police officers in this country.

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But if all black lives matter, which of course they do, then what about the lives of our black police officers?

Nationally, over 15 percent of our law enforcement is black, as Axios reported. That’s a bigger share than the black U.S. population. These officers are doing a job they are paid to do and are putting their lives on the line every day to do it.

Look at what happened to David Dorn, the 77-year-old retired police captain. He served on the police force for 38 years. His life was brutally taken during the unrest in St. Louis.

What about his black life?

Look at what happened to federal security guard Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, who was murdered during the unrest in Oakland.

What about his black life?

“Where is the outrage for a fallen officer that also happens to be African-American?” his own sister asked during testimony on Capitol Hill this week.

What about the lives of black unborn babies in this country? The abortion rate for black women is nearly five times that of white women, according to the Guttmacher Institute. African-American women comprised 13.3 percent of our population in 2014 — yet black women had 36 percent of all the abortions, according to Right to Life. (The percentage may be even higher.) In New York City alone, thousands more black babies are aborted every year than are born alive, as a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed noted.

I don’t hear much about these black lives in today’s overheated rhetoric.

We can’t pick and choose which humans matter to us merely to suit a socialist agenda that wants war over peace.

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What’s been happening in our country these last few weeks is tragic, heartbreaking, and wrong. The rhetoric and media-created narratives will not stand.

We have the right to speak up and to speak out, and to do so peacefully. These are cherished First Amendment protections.

But violence, destruction and anger do nothing to bring George Floyd back. That was never what his family wanted.

As a black Latina, as a woman, as a recording artist, as a writer — and most of all as a freedom-loving American — I choose to use my voice over violence.

In the middle of the turbulent and violent riots taking place in Los Angeles, I went down to Hollywood and Highland with an American flag. And I wrapped myself in that flag to demonstrate my love for this country as photographer Matthew Cali snapped some pictures. I wanted to make a bold statement amid the protests, the rioting and the destruction.

As stores were smashed and voices were raised, I raised my hand in peace toward a group of the National Guard who were stationed there. And I let them know that I supported them and appreciated that they were keeping us safe during these times.

I told them I support black lives and police lives.

One gentleman in the group, who was Hispanic, told me they had driven three hours to be at Hollywood and Highland and that they had not slept in 36 hours. When these National Guardsmen did get to sleep, they had to sleep on the dirty floor — the dirt-covered ground — with M-16s lying next to them for safety. They slept with one eye open.

They had families as well, they told me. They wanted to keep everyone safe amid the violence and the destruction.

This happened in the heart of the once-glamorous city that I call home. And in many other cities and states, the same thing happened as well.

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I’m using my voice over violence. Right now, I’m in the studio recording my thoughts into musical form to stand up for what I believe in — and to help heal this nation.

I urge and implore all Americans: Use your voice over the chaos. Use your voice to pray and sing and celebrate goodness over the craziness. Use your voice over destruction. Use your voice over violence.

I stand against hatred in all its forms. I stand against violence.

I stand for the American flag. I love this country and all of the opportunities it gives us every single day. God created each of us as equals — and equal under the American flag will we stay.

We need to use our voices for freedom and positivity for a brighter future in this country. We need voices over violence.

Joy Villa, a #1 Billboard independent rock recording artist and a pro-life conservative activist, is working on her first book about how she went from liberal feminist to conservative Trumplican. She’s also working on a new song, “Voice Over Violence.” She can be found at joyvilla.com.

 

 

This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on June 13, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steve Gruber.