Global Patriotism: How Global Citizens Fit in the U.S. Election Process

By Myra Dumapias

To a Third Culture Kid (TCK) who grew up among nations and cultures, national patriotism and duty may seem foreign concepts to some tied to only one country.

At a 2016 Tory Party Conference, former United Kingdom (U.K.) Prime Minister Theresa May said, “If you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere,” according to IntelligenceSquared.com.

In opposition to this statement, novelist and cCommentator Elif Shafak defended her identity as a global soul and world citizen defined by having “multiple belongings at the same time,” describing it as a type of “patriotism without being nationalistic.” And we think TCKs can relate.

I spoke with three TCKs: Viru Agrawal, Precious Brooks and Vahid Mockon to shed light on the process of how they, as global souls and world citizens, practiced the patriotic duty of local civic engagement during the U.S. electoral process.

Agrawal, Brooks and Mockon shared experiences that were in line with the type patriotism referenced by Shafak: “When it comes to patriotism, I’m still hesitant to claim, ‘Oh yes, U.S. identity, that’s me,’” Brooks says. “I have a lot of different parts that’s in me from having lived abroad during my formative years.”

The avenue through which Brooks found her identity as an American was through her lens of seeing the global impact the U.S. has, which prompts her involvement in civic participation and economic empowerment. “I think my sense of self has accepted part of the identity that comes with being a Black American and the complexity around that,” a process she says she is still working through.

This year Brooks reports reaching “a point where I now feel more ‘American,’ whatever that means, than ever before.” Her first move was to Java, Indonesia at the age of six months, then to Papua, New Guinea. After four or five years, her family moved to Nairobi, Kenya then back to Indonesia where she graduated from high school.

Precious Brooks

Agrawal illustrates what it looks like: “You find yourself keeping up with the news channels in five different countries and talking to the people you know there or your family who still lives there.” Agrawal uses the example of underground land mines in Frankfurt, a story he has been following with his sister, to explain that although he is invested in the situation, for others who did not grow up in different countries, “you don’t really have an emotional investment in something that’s halfway across the globe.”

For TCKs, by contrast, according to Agrawal, “You do genuinely care about what’s happening in all these different countries, regardless of how a person who lives there would perceive your connection should be to the country.” Agrawal was born in India, then moved to New York for some years. After moving back to India, Agrawal’s family moved to Frankfurt, Germany, then Nairobi, Kenya; Arusha, Tanzania and back to India.

Virupaksh Agrawal

Mockon, on the other hand, applies his patriotism to the world as a whole. “The world is but one country and mankind its citizens, so I am a citizen of the world,” he states. “I am a steward of this planet, therefore I participate in the life of the country I currently live in. So whatever that country may be, participating in the civic life of that country is the most important thing for me as well.”

While Mockon stopped counting the number countries he has links to, Mockton’s ties capture his allegiance. “I am a person of the world. I am a citizen of the world and that’s where my links and my ties are.” Mockon was born in Hong Kong, then moved back to Philippines for a few years, then moved to Nouakchott, Mauritania, then to Orange County in Calif., U.S.A. He also travelled as a youth to other countries including Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Canada to name a few.

The avenue through which Brooks found her identity as an American was through her lens of seeing the global impact the U.S. has, which prompts her involvement in civic participation and economic empowerment.

While globally invested, these TCKs became committed to civic participation.

When in St. Louis, Mo.,U.S.A., Agrawal committed to having conversations with his friends, reminding them of the important issues that were on the ballot during the 2020 U.S. general election, encouraging them “to do what they can do to make their voice heard, if anything, on behalf of those of us who can’t,” and break away from what he calls “inherited” party loyalty based on familial tradition. Washington, D.C.-based Brooks drew on her TCK background as a chameleon to successfully canvass for former U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. She talked to Iowans, discovering the roots of what mattered to them and really could see their humanity even though she recognized vast political differences, was able to find “shared understanding and common ground.”

Mockon, in Louisville, Ky., U.S.A., dedicated time to promote the importance of participating in the life of the community where he reminds his friends, coworkers and relatives to vote regardless of whether he agreed with their candidate. He encouraged others to practice their right to vote and go by the dictates of their conscience, as well as be an

Virupaksh Agrawal example to other people.

These and other TCKs whose global upbringing likely have a similar impact, provide valuable lessons for a nation that has seen its polarization more than double since 1994. According to a late 2017 Pew Research Center Study “The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider,” fewer than 20 percent of either the Democratic or Republican parties viewed the opposing party “very unfavorably,” in 1994; currently that number has risen to 44 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners and 45 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners.

Brooks poses the rhetorical question, “How can we make sure we are coming together to still voice our differences and recognize we have different perspectives,” but find common ground? Brooks’ focus is to build bridges to address the growing polarity. As a millennial, she points out, “my generation is going to be in a precarious situation where we have to make a lot of decisions. We have climate change, wealth and equality, a whole range of issues.”

Agrawal brings up the importance of having a global interconnectivity lens. He urges that in making electoral or political choices, we should not forget the value of not only TCK experience of having lived globally, but the value in allowing

The world is but one country and mankind its citizens, so I am a citizen of the world.

anyone to have a global experience. Agrawal points out that in 2020, as connectivity has become more digital, “It really cannot be over-stated how valuable it is that we keep enabling anyone and everyone to interact, to learn from and to impact things that might be geographically tens of thousands of miles away.”

While Mockon sees that in addition to politics, there are spiritual and personal transformation dimensions for being civically engaged, he emphasizes the implication of local civic engagement for other countries, explaining, “I feel that by being a responsible citizen, I’m also a responsible citizen of the world. If I was living in another country and a citizen of that country and I was eligible to vote, I would do the same.” Guided by his Baháʼí faith’s focus on unity, Mockon does not get involved in partisan politics, but focuses on conversations and civic duty, the highest form of which for him is voting.

Based on the experiences these TCKs have in common, it seems that the area of messaging and community engagement, especially if it were beyond merely the few months leading up to an election but more year-round, is indeed where TCKs can be most useful. Agrawal and Brooks expressed how they can understand the validity of opinions different from their own.

Addressing the “implied polarity” that Agrawal sees in political marketing, he states, “being a TCK really helps me to realize where all this political marketing is going wrong and failing with all those connections, and how [TCKs] can fill that gap.”

Brooks emphasizes the power of active listening, “I don’t want to call out people that are Conservative because I can see where they’re coming from and their perspectives are valid as my own.” She partly credits her upbringing in a Christian household, “I am never going to be so far on either end of the spectrum where I can’t understand where [others] are coming from. I can use that to learn other people’s perspective and continue to also strengthen my own argument to try to meet in the middle.”

Mockon’s faith-based practice of not engaging in debate, yet encouraging people to use their power to vote, demonstrates the higher focus on the common duty to vote regardless of differences — the practice of which was also informed by his exposure to different cultures and peoples. Mockon likens this process of forging ones own path of critical thinking and independent investigation to the process of deciding on which country to move to or visit next, using the illustration of levers. “I investigate for myself independently and obviously I have to listen to others’ opinion but that doesn’t necessarily shape how I perceive, how I go forward with a certain action. The electoral process are like levers for me.” Because Mockon is involved in the electoral process in a non-partisan way, the way he switches his levers is a very personal process.

Perhaps the biggest contribution TCKs can share in the process of civic engagement is the value of humility, as demonstrated by accounts from each TCK in this discussion about having gone through a transformation process, out of which they share messages for our readers.

Both Mockon and Brooks mentioned that we all have blind spots. Brooks adds, “Don’t get caught up in your own head because at the end of the day, we have each other and our community, and I want to be as good of a world citizen as I can be.” Brooks cautions avoiding conversing with people for various fear-based reasons, saying, “if we let fear get in the way, we miss building community.”

Vahid Mockon

Kale & Flax photography

Brooks’ transformation was evolving out of a place of what she considered passively “going with the flow,” to a place of using her TCK background of being comfortable in uncertain settings to engage with diverse people. Brooks also discovered the values she did not realize she had while growing up from being exposed to her parents’ career in grassroots development work. This exposure led to the strengthening of her commitment to social justice in 2020.

Agrawal strongly encourages talking to people one would never talk to and having uncomfortable conversations. “Whether you’re a Third Culture Kid or anyone with diverse experiences, just get out there and have those conversations,” he says. “At the end of the day, everyone’s a good person. The barriers to doing so might vary from person to person inevitably but everyone’s a good person, everyone wants to get to know a new person and learn something new at the end of the day.” Agrawal’s personal transformation was pushing himself to talk to people in a city where he “literally knew nobody” when he first arrived. He is now known as the one who organizes the gatherings for his circle of friends. In 2020 especially, Agrawal observed the impact of the routine of party loyalty “inherited” as a family tradition and encourages evolving to form ones’ own genuine opinion.

Mockon speaks of the humbly honorable process of giving back to the community with a mindset of how the world can be impacted by the leadership of the country you currently reside in.

“Whether you’re in transit and still moving around or have decided to settle in one country and love it there, find ways to really partake in the benefits of that country, which includes giving back. Part of giving back is taking part in its elections,” he says.

Mockon discussed transformations that come out of realizing everyone has blind spots and biases.

Being able to transform his exposure to multiple cultures while growing up to being able to give impromptu speeches, including two-minute elevator speeches and speaking effectively to an audience of hundreds of people.

“You and I were raised to be okay in an environment where everything in the beginning was not certain, but we can be sure that it will be fine.” Mockon changed his levers again in 2020 and will wait to see how the next four years will be.

In his book, “The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home,” Author Pico Iyer presents some questions that can arise along with the uncertainties, mobility and uprootedness faced by TCKs: “A lack of affiliation may mean a lack of accountability, and forming a sense of commitment can be hard without a sense of community. Displacement can encourage the wrong kinds of distance, and if the nationalism we see sparking up around the globe arises from too narrow and fixed a sense of loyalty, the internationalism that’s coming to birth may reflect too roaming and undefined a sense of belonging. ”

I don’t want to call out people that are Conservative because I can see where they’re coming from and their perspectives are valid as my own. — Precious Brooks

On the contrary, it seems that these three TCKs living in the U.S. have forged a path where internationalism was defined enough through a lens of responsibility and duty that the fellow global citizen TCKs also share a belonging. Individual TCKs living in the U.S. as adults who grew up with the uncertainty of global mobility forged this path towards the national duty of civic engagement and voting during an election year.

The sense of duty demonstrated by these TCKs dispels concerns that having global ties and affiliations negates a sense of accountability or commitment, even in places TCKs don’t feel a sense of community or belonging.

A lack of affiliation may mean a lack of accountability, and forming a sense of commitment can be hard without a sense of community.

Displacement, for these TCKs did not result in distance from a type of loyalty to serve others locally. Rather, the distance of the global impact of their local civic participation is a measurement of how immense a TCK’s love for and desire to give back to the world they grew up in.

The hunger for belonging is so deep that even in towns and cities where a TCK may not typically fit in, that love is still practiced to the point that TCKs would own and create belonging for themselves through civic action.