Understanding a third-culture kid

July 29, 2004

This op-ed appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on July 29th.

By: Elizabeth Lowe
Elizabeth Lowe is a a faculty member at UF’s Center for Latin American Studies who directs a program in Translation and Cross-cultural Studies.

Much has been said about John Kerry’s military career, patrician background and marriage to the wealthy heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry. The presumed Democratic presidential nominee has been described as “complex,” with an aloofness that is his “Achilles heel.”

What many people do not know, however, is that Kerry grew up an American expatriate. His personality traits are those of a “third-culture kid” — a well-documented psychological state that is an underappreciated asset for a U.S. leader in an era when the world is increasingly skeptical of America and its intentions.

Kerry grew up as the son of a Foreign Service officer who served in Paris, Oslo and Berlin, among other international cities. When he was an 11-year-old student attending boarding school in Switzerland, Kerry traveled alone by train to Berlin through the then-forbidden east sector. In an interview last year with the Washington Post, Kerry said he defied the rules and explored East Berlin, gaining an appreciation of the impact of politics and war on people’s lives. He attributes his self-confidence, survival skills, language abilities and interest in public life to his experiences abroad.

Kerry, however, is prone to be misunderstood. For him and other third-culture kids, the stressful nature of many moves and attempts to adapt to alien cultures tends to create patterns of self-questioning, an urge to “fit” into difficult environments and a determination to succeed in an unwelcoming space. In a recent interview, Kerry said of his boarding school, St. Paul’s in New Hampshire, “The culture was alien. It had a language that I didn’t know at first, a kind of body language. It took some learning.”

What takes the most learning and energy, however, is returning home after many years overseas. It is not unusual for young expatriates to fight loneliness, anger, anxiety and a general sense of not belonging. Too often, these feelings externalize as aloofness and snobbery. But, like other third-culture kids, Kerry is also highly focused, energetic and goal-driven. He is an excellent diplomat and negotiator, someone used to the concept that the world is not his own oyster.

Third-culture kid is a term coined 40 years ago by Ruth Hill Useem in her research on North American children living in India. She initiated a stream of research that profiles the TCK as someone who “copes rather than adjusts,” becoming both “a part of” and “apart from” whatever situation they find themselves in. Kids on the move share common traits with each other and relate poorly to their American peers who have not had internationally mobile experiences. Their international peer group plays a large role in their formation, setting them apart when they return to the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau does not attempt to count citizens living abroad. The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs estimates that more than a million American diplomats, military service members and other government workers and their families currently live abroad.

Now with the rise of multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations, hundreds of thousands of other Americans are drawn overseas on a regular basis. With rapid shifts in world events, corporate mergers, natural and political disasters, organizations are often forced to move people around with little or short notice.

Seeing John Kerry as a TCK helps define him and what he would bring to the presidency. His astute choice of John Edwards as his vice president is consistent with his TCK intuition that he needs a homegrown partner to help “translate” his message to the American public.

Similarly, with the consequences of the Bush administration’s “go it alone” attitude and myopic world view coming into focus in Iraq, it’s clear that the country needs a leader more sensitive to the concerns of those who do not hold U.S. passports.

As a TCK who has faced and overcome challenges in his personal life, Kerry offers the country a set of skills and perspectives that can help interpret America to the world and the world to America.