<i>It&#x27;s more than residency, it&#x27;s identity.</i><p>This is the part that often (note: not always) leads to valuing an American higher than a non-American. I have real problems with that. 911 is virtually celebrated, while larger tragedies the world over are not. What makes an American soldier&#x27;s life more worthwhile than a baby born with Aids in some African backwater? If you believe all the flag-waving, nationalism. Otherwise media.<p>And I get that small number of deaths is a tragedy, a large number is a statistic. That doesn&#x27;t change the reality - a life is valuable no matter who&#x27;s it is, and where that person lives.<p>I&#x27;m a citizen of the world. I was born in Africa, have lived in the US, and now live in Europe. I rate myself as no better or worse than anyone else on this planet, including Americans. Most of all I&#x27;m insanely grateful to not be American.