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Obama's 'Third Culture' Team
Obama has packed his staff with so-called “Third Culture Kids”—people who grew up outside the U.S. New research suggests this group shares common psychological traits that could shape his administration.
John Quincy Adams lived in France, and young Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Europe often enough to master French and German, but Barack Obama is the first modern American president to have spent some of his formative years outside the United States. It is a trait he shares with several appointees to the new administration: White House advisor Valerie Jarrett was a child in Tehran and London, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was raised in east Africa, India, Thailand, China and Japan as the son of a Ford Foundation executive, and National Security Advisor James L. Jones was raised in Paris. (Also, Bill Richardson, tipped as Secretary of Commerce, grew up in Mexico City.)
This is more than a trivial coincidence. So-called “Third Culture Kids”—and the adults they become”—share certain emotional and psychological traits that may exert great influence in the new administration. According to a body of sociological literature devoted to children who spend a portion of their developmental years outside their “passport country,” the classic profile of a “TCK” is someone with a global perspective who is socially adaptable and intellectually flexible. He or she is quick to think outside the box and can appreciate and reconcile different points of view. Beyond whatever diversity in background or appearance a TCK may bring to the party, there is a diversity of thought as well.
“Third Culture Kids” share certain emotional and psychological traits that may exert great influence in the new administration.
But TCKs can also feel rootless and detached. The great challenge for maturing Third Culture Kids is to forge a sense of personal and cultural identity from the various environments to which they been exposed. Barack Obama’s memoir, Dreams of My Father, could serve as a textbook in the TCK syllabus, a classic search for self-definition, described in living color. Obama’s colleagues on the Harvard Law Review were among the first to note both his exceptional skill at mediating among competing arguments and the aloofness that made his own views hard to discern. That cool manner of seeming “above it all” is also a classic feature of the Third Culture Kid.
The TCKs’ identity struggles can be painful and difficult. The literature documents addictive behaviors, troubled marriages and fitful careers. But meeting this challenge can become a TCK’s greatest strength. Learning to take the positive pieces from a variety of experiences and create a strong sense of “This is who I am, no matter where I am” gives a steadiness when the world around is in flux or chaos”—which helps explain “no-drama Obama.”
Among those of us who study Third Culture Kids (almost always because we are TCKs), it has been both gratifying and frustrating to watch “one of us” run for the White House. We began obsessively pointing out to each other the telltale signifiers of the TCK that so often went unremarked in the mainstream press.
“I laughed when I heard a commentator call Barack exotic and elitist,” says Lois Bushong, an American who grew up in Costa Rica and now works a therapist for internationally mobile families. “How exotic or elitist can it be to go home to visit your grandmother, even if she lives in Hawaii? She’s still your grandma. This TV guy seemed to forget that the world many see ‘exotic’ is simply home for TCKs.”
But we also despaired when his opponents denigrated the importance of Obama’s childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii. “How can they say his international childhood doesn’t count when it comes to foreign affairs?” sputtered my friend and colleague, Paulette Bethel. “That’s just crazy. Barack’s been negotiating between cultural worlds since the day of his birth. No one will have to teach him this skill. It’s already second nature to him!”
Bethel feels vindicated by the collection of strong personalities that Obama has invited into the new administration. “He’s lived with so many differences around him in his lifetime, they don’t threaten him anymore,” she says.
In 1984, Dr. Ted Ward, then a sociologist at Michigan State University, called TCKs “the prototype citizens of the future,” anticipating a time when a childhood lived in various cultures would be the norm rather than the exception. It seems that time is now.
And the characteristics derived from an expat childhood may be well suited to the challenges facing the new administration. The economic crisis, for one, demonstrates how interdependent world cultures have become, and its solution will undoubtedly require the unconventional thinking that comes more easily to a Third Culture Kid. Even though Tim Geithner is not an economist by training, he apparently demonstrated such a keen problem-solving skills in the financial arena that the stock market jumped 500 points on the news of his appointment. Returning to Japan as an adult and speaking the language he learned as a child have given him an unusually deep understanding of the global economy.
As TCKs, we have had the joy, and the challenge, of being raised in many places and cultures. Now we get to see whether the values of the TCK can be a force for good on the world stage.
Ruth E. Van Reken is a second generation adult TCK and mother of 3 ATCKs. She speaks nationally and internationally on issues related to global family living. She is co-founder of Families in Globlal Transition. In addition to other writing, Ruth is co-author of Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds.
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Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
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As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Forestroot
This is a great piece. This is info I have never heard. Remember when the sun never set on the British Empire and the English Aristocracy was made up of many TCK's. I am bookmarking this for future reference.
Really--Good Job.
easton
Having lived half of my adult life outside of the states, first in Austria, then China, and now Mexico, I think it is safe to say that it is not just children who share those traits. I think every American, child or adult, should spend at least a few years of their life outside of America. The only difficulties in being an expat adult is that language acquistion is more difficult, my nuerons just don't fire the way they used to.
Barbara7
Excellent points. We have lived abroad and our four children had powerful expat experiences at a young age...foremost among them, understanding/hearing what their schoolmates thought of 'America' and Americans. When one learns as a small child that perception and reality can be very different, and that perception can indeed 'trump' reality with uncommon regularity...one can understand how critical it is that we now have President Elect Obama to represent America abroad instead of the Bush Cowboy that alienated so many. If only every American could have the expat experience of looking from 'the outside in' we'd be in a much stronger and worthy position within our global community.
annecopeland
And there's more! While the following Obama appointees aren't technically Third Culture Kids, they likely learned about intercultural issues and how to take someone else's perspective at an early age:
- Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel's father was born in Israel.
- Attorney General-to-be Eric Holder's father and maternal grandparents were born in Barbados
-White House Counsel-to-be Greg Craig's father was the first Director of Training in the Peace Corps
-Secretary of Health and Human Services-pick Tom Daschle's grandparents were ethnic Germans from Russia
Tata555
Finally someone is on to the TCK factor! Per the article, have been avidly following Obama's journey, having recognized a fellow TCK-A (adult), growing up in the U.S., Lebanon, Turkey and Kenya. Since his election, have also watched with interest his key appointments, many of whom are also TCKAs. Great article, have forwarded to my sister who now lives in Viet Nam.
Ticejust
This is an excellent piece. I am a TCK too and I understand this analysis to the core. Besides being a TCK, I speak three languages, and that enables me to zoom straight to solutions in the face of problems. The word impossible does not exist in my dictionary. I support our President-elect one hundred percent and I believe that he will study and avoid mistakes of the past as he and his team seek solutions to our present and future problems. I wrote so many letters to TV anchors and pundits in his defence during the campaign. For example, they tried to derail his candidacy with the charge that he was palling around with Ayers. I asked them this question: If he were palling around with terrorists as charged, and he had not bombed America nor killed anyone, did that not mean that he has an incorruptible character? Rather than see the strength in peolple, they concoct lies to satisfy their whims. I guess they now know whom he pals around with- The greatest minds!
TCKinSingapore
It's so wonderful to share a similar history with the President-elect (I was a diplomat kid, now raising two TCKs of my own).
It's high time this unique demographic started coming out of the woodwork and start being recognized for the qualities and gifts we bring to people around us, who may not have had such a global experience. My family and I will be cheering Obama and his team as they stand poised to impact the world at large.
asmith36
Having lived abroad for 22 years, returning to CA was a shock. So many albeit well-travelled friends seemed unsophisticated in their tastes and experiences. And the contrast between the world service and NPR is remarkable. Mr. Obama may draw upon experience and observations which President Bush could never have done. Great article. Thanks.
overdue
I gotta agree with the others here who say this is a well written, well researched piece.
The angle of "TCK" is new to me, and although it's going to freak quite a few people out, it's something that even they should keep in mind as Obama makes his decisions.
The Daily Beast needs more articles like this!
kahawa
Hear hear. I've been commenting about this for some time on blogs, as a TCK (love the term) myself. The value of this kind of experience cannot be overestimated in my opinion. I was also vastly reassured by the reminder that I'm not the only one that often feels like an "outsider" when what is normal for me seems exotic to others, or when I display my natural curiosity about and empathy for alternate cultural points of view. Thank you.
lorijen
Great forward-looking article, focusing on the unique perspectives and talents brought home by TCKs. I forwarded it to my friend whose family is living in Shanghai for 2 years.
vankuyk
Not only have we learned to negotiate different cultures and value diversity, we have seen different solutions to solve similar problems and sometimes have seen better ways of doing things.
We have also observed the different cultures and have learned from them and have adopted the best of them to form a combination of what might be called a " global cultural best practices" catalog to live by.
We are not distracted by superficial outward differences and are able to focus on the issues, we are able to quickly distinguish between form and content and zero in on content.
Maryam
I was really drawn to Obama when I learned he was a TCK. Having grown up in countries of the British Commonwealth and the US, it always seemed incredible that Americans seemed to consider his time outside the US as a problem, rather than a benefit for a future leader. I'm proud to call my fellow-TCK my president.
MichelleDiane
Excellent article! So much of it describes me perfectly. Having lived a third of my life outside the United States, I am gratified to know the things I think and feel are not strange or wrong, but unique to who I am because of my experiences.
To be honest, I hadn't thought of how Obama's upbringing and background would affect him as a President. I feel even more confidence in him now.
Thank you for writing this! And Daily Beast, thank you for publishing it!
babymiyon
I think it's a really nice piece.
"The TCKs' identity struggles can be painful and difficult. The literature documents addictive behaviors, troubled marriages and fitful careers. But meeting this challenge can become a TCK's greatest strength. Learning to take the positive pieces from a variety of experiences and create a strong sense of "This is who I am, no matter where I am" gives a steadiness when the world around is in flux or chaos - which helps explain "no-drama Obama.""
-> As a TCK I can relate to young Obama's struggles with identity. President Obama gives me hope because he has gone through this process of finding security in who he is, his identity, which many non-TCKs don't ask themselves as often as TCKs. And the struggles he has gone through can empower him to bring together the division in race, economy, and social welfare (ex. insurance).
Thank you.
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