August 8, 2007 Wednesday

For third culture kids, brave new worlds

By Lewis W. Diuguid
Kansas City Star

Sen. Barack Obama's superb fundraising ability and mass appeal as a presidential candidate spring from his multifaceted, global background.

It's more than his multiracial heritage. His father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., was a native of Kenya, and his mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita. After their divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student with whom she had a daughter.

They moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama attended school about four years. That makes Obama a "third culture kid."

David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken describe this growing phenomenon of diversity in their book, Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing up Among Worlds.

Third culture kids belong to neither the worlds of their parents "nor fully the world of the other culture (cultures) in which they were raised," Pollock and Van Reken note. "This neither/nor world is not merely an amalgamation of the various cultures they have known."

Third culture kids "develop their own life patterns different from those who are basically born and bred in one place," the book explains. In them emerges a unique "third culture" that gives them the ability to empathize and communicate more clearly and succinctly with others of all walks.

The phenomenon is growing because the number of families "involved in international careers of all types has increased dramatically." The authors state that in 1946 it was unusual for Americans to live overseas unless they were missionaries or diplomats. Military service has made it more commonplace.

The authors cite data showing that in 1990 the "census counted 922,000 federal workers and their families living overseas, and the total number of Americans living abroad either permanently or temporarily is estimated at 3 million."

Third culture kids and adults pick up what they deem to be the best of the worlds they have lived in. "Certainly cultural practices are incorporated from the unique aspects of both host and home cultures, but the third culture is more than the sum total of the parts of home and host culture," Pollock and Van Reken write.

Keep in mind that "culture is also a system of shared assumptions, beliefs and values," the authors note. "It is the framework from which we interpret and make sense of life and the world around us."

People like Obama use their third culture magnification to enlarge a sense of hope and help others value diversity. Immigrants throughout history have done that. Today's Hispanic newcomers do it, too.

The rest of the nation just has to embrace the richness that Hispanics and other third culture kids add to the United States instead of seeking to exclude them.

But because third culture kids see our world differently, some often have trouble adjusting and fitting in. Obama has said he struggled with his heritage and used drugs as a teenager to push questions of who he was out of his mind.

Pollock and Van Reken said third culture kids struggle with identity issues, hidden losses, where they are really from, where they belong and the need to be understood. "They begin to wear a mask to cover those feelings but conform to the expectations and socially approved behavior of the community," the authors note.

Once they become grounded, however, they are awesome - like Obama. Third culture kids "learn to think on their feet and can often 'roll with the punches,' even in unusual circumstances," the authors said.

Expect that to be Obama's hallmark in the long campaign.

Lewis W. Diuguid is a member of The Star's Editorial Board. To reach him, call 816-234-4723 or send e-mail to Ldiuguid@kcstar.com.