Xaedalus:

I will NOT stand here and cry for what has been, nor will I tremble in the face of what might be. I see light at the end of the tunnel. Though we may emerge into a wasteland after all is said and done, we have been here before. We will survive, and we will make do. The financial world will adapt, and it will thrive. People will continue to do business, and banks will continue to lend. The petro-dictatorships will weaken as we continue. There will be new challenges, and we will meet them.
I am tired of being afraid, simply because the press and scholars insist I must be. I refuse, because I know we can get through this.

... Empires are founded to decline and fall. Remember the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the German Holy Roman Empire, the Russian Empire or the Celestial Empire! Have any of them ever lasted for ever? Domino effect, don’t be too optimistic, USA is heading towards only God knows where. It iiiiiiiiis simply US tuuuuuuuuurn, be it within long or short term!