I thought I’d be writing about something really important this week – what husbands shouldn’t buy their wives for Christmas. My goal was to give guys who don’t have a clue about shopping some valuable advice, like stay away from loofah sponges and pre-boxed sets that include mugs. Avoid anything related to weight loss. Bypass (in general) things that plug in.

I hoped I could stop the poor fellow who’s out there right now, debating between a Hoover and a Shark, from making this the “Vacuum Cleaner Christmas”.

And I wanted to spare some innocent wife the trouble of acting like she really does like her “As Seen on TV” surprise. Really.

But instead, I decided it was more important for me to spend time thinking about something I could give my own husband and the other guys out there who are being branded by their badges these days. That’s a word – thanks.

Thanks for doing a job that’s dirty, dangerous and difficult. Thanks for getting the speeders off the streets, the shoplifters out of the stores and the drug dealers away from our children. Thanks for working when the rest of us are sleeping and enjoying weekends off.

And thanks for doing all of the above while a racially-incited world covers/smothers some of you with one big blanket generalization.

I wanted you to know that not everybody sees you as the enemy. Just read, for example, what Texas Pastor Voddie Bauchum (who happens to be black) says he will tell his seven sons about what happened in Missouri:

“In the end, the best lesson my children can learn from Ferguson is not that they need to be on the lookout for white cops. My sons have far more to fear from making bad choices than they have to fear from the police. The overwhelming majority of police officers are decent people just trying to make a living. They are much more likely to help you than to harm you. A life of thuggery, however, is never your friend. In the end, it will cost you . . . sometimes, it costs you everything.”

Ben Carson, retired pediatric neurosurgeon and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, echoed those sentiments. In a debate with the Rev. Jesse Jackson conducted by “Fox News Sunday”. Carson (who is also black) said he feels that protesters in Ferguson focused on the wrong issues. The issue, Carson argues, is how we handle our anger.

Drawing on his own childhood experience, he stated, “I’ve seen a lot more situations where the police saved the situation. I’m not sure this is a police versus black community issue. As a youngster, I had anger problems also. But for the grace of God, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. I tried to stab another youngster with a knife. Anger issues get in the way.”

And hard-hitting journalist La Shawn Barber (who also happens to be black) calls the image of a menacing white, black body-hating “militarized” cop the stuff of liberal fantasies. “Bonus points if his eyes are blue,” she jabs in WORLD Magazine.

But it’s the Facebook post of New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson (also black) that puts it all in perspective, describing the events surrounding Ferguson as they should be described – as a sin problem, rather than a skin problem.

“Sin is the reason we rebel against authority. Sin is the reason we abuse our authority. Sin is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. Sin is the reason we riot, loot and burn,” wrote Watson.

He concludes with a statement that went viral, to the tune of some 700,000 likes on his Facebook page: “The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel.”

So I’m pouring over Watson’s wise words last Friday night after reading others that are a tirade of us versus them, and all the while my husband is out there late. It’s dangerous. And he’s locking up two different drunk drivers (white, black, polka-dotted – I’m not sure) in an effort to keep our local highways safe.

Oh, and he’s wearing the bullet-proof vest that’s been coming between our hugs for 20 years.

Thanks.

Wesson resident Kim Henderson is a freelance writer who writes for The Daily Leader. Contact her at kimhenderson319@gmail.com.