I guess the first question should be, whether we want our country to fail ...and then we should ask ourselves, what made our country great. Not great as in powerful, but great!!  Not great as in ...rich in gold, or in whoever has the most toys wins.  It has been virtue that has made us great.  Not the scandalous events of certain embarrassing moments in history, but how we keep our resolve, and decide not to change who we are, in spite of what others have done.