Tristan-
Great meta-perspective 
You pretty much nailed it.
I am reminded of when the Soviet Union collapsed, and all the former republics declared their independence…
The West celebrated and said to the Russians “yes, it will be rough for you at first, but after you go through a period of ‘shock therapy’, you will see how democracy and capitalism drastically improve the average standard of living.”
And that is exactly what happened… Look at the average Russian’s standard of living now, compared to Communism.
With that in mind, I think if we took our own advice, and went through a little “shock therapy” here in the US (letting substandard institutions fail rather than propping them up), that would also bode well for our future and our kids’ futures.
