THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS A RESET FOR OUR EMOTIONS

 

The holiday season represents many different things. For Christianity, it celebrates the birth of the centerpiece of the faith. For Judaism, it recognizes an important historical event. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday that celebrates African American and Pan-African culture. For retailers, it constitutes 20 percent of annual sales.

For those of us seeking a respite from the negativity in the world, it offers a welcome reset for our emotions. It takes a holiday season that recognizes the joy of children, surrounded by comfort food, friends, and family to have this wonderful effect.

My holiday commentary offers three short stories that may help to reset emotions. These examples take place in three very different and unusual settings. They occur in Central Africa, within a Fortune 500 corporation, and in a courtroom that was virtually made-up for Veterans Day. May these offerings engender a sense of hope and joy.

The Albino African. My first selection comes from the travels and pen of New York Times journalist, Nicholas Kristof. He reminds us that “People in the poorest countries are often, of necessity, masters of strength, adaptability, and resilience.”

Twenty-three-year-old Chantale Zuzi was born with albinism in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Her body lacks melanin). Chantale’s maternal grandmother labeled her cursed and wanted to kill her. Her parents intervened and Chantale survived. In the village school other students refused to touch her.

At age 13, Chantale’s parents were murdered by another ethnic group. She became a refugee in Uganda, helping to care for her nine siblings. Chantale’s albinism again placed her in danger, and she fled to Nairobi, Kenya. Fate intervened, and she was resettled in the United States because of the continued threats against her.

In 2017, at age 17, Chantale was adopted by a Massachusetts couple. After three years of learning English, she took advanced courses and entered Wellesley College. Following graduation, she has expanded her nonprofit, “Refugee Can Be,” to lift up young girls in the Uganda refugee camps. Kristof concludes his piece by saying, “Talent is universal, even if opportunity is not. Sprinkle some education on village girls, and the world can be transformed.”

The Corporation with a Heart.  I recently became aware of a corporation, Tyson Foods, that goes above and beyond the business world of seeking profit to demonstrate a profound concern for the well-being of its employees. Tyson Foods has a heart.

Animal rights activists and ethical vegans might initially disagree with my assessment. After all, Tyson Foods is a massive company, considered the world's second-largest animal protein producer and the largest in North America, with 133,000 employees. It produces roughly one of every five pounds of chicken, pork, and beef consumed in the U.S. and has sales of over $53 billion. 

A nonprofit organization called Jobs for the Future has estimated that 60% of front-line workers in Tyson processing plants are immigrants and refugees.  Within one plant, more than 25 different languages are spoken. While the company requires all employees to be legally authorized to work in the United States, Trump’s immigration policies have presented challenges.

Tyson created a program of dedicated chaplains to provide employees and their families with compassionate care for their physical and psychological needs, regardless of the employee’s ethnicity or religious beliefs. The chaplains are “faith friendly,” but do not preach. Tyson provides nearly 100 chaplains in more than 150 facilities across 22 states. These resolute individuals, trained in clinical pastoral education, suicide prevention, domestic violence, and other psychological assessments, offer support to all employees.

In a statement describing the program, the past Director Karen Diefendorf, explains, “Some days, they visit a team member’s family who is sick, or maybe help a team member in need of community resources like housing or transportation. The chaplaincy is an important benefit that provides a sense of comfort during high-anxiety situations, while also helping team members celebrate their greatest wins—either at work or at home.”

The Made-up Virtual Courtroom. My last story is more of a fairy tale. Around Veterans Day this past November, a story appeared on social media that fact checkers could not document as true. An 88-year-old Vietnam veteran was seated in a wheelchair before a stern judge known for his strict rulings. The city attorney presented a long list of housing violations and unpaid fines and requested an eviction of the veteran from his home.

As the man sat trembling the Judge took a recess and left the bench. When the judge returned, he announced to the defendant that he had contacted the local VFW and the county’s veteran’s fund. All fines were dismissed. In addition, the judge had contacted a local construction union that agreed to make repairs to the veteran’s home. As the man was overcome with joy, the judge came down from the bench and hugged him, thanking him for his service.

This apparently fictional story attracted me because of its application of a moral precept made famous by Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe in their 2011 book, Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to do the Right Thing. The authors urge each of us to learn to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time rather than to blindly follow unbending laws and established procedures. The message is, “Wise people know when and how to make the exception to every rule.”