It's human nature to envy the one at the top. 

Whether it's the most stuff, the most power, the best looks -- everyone wishes they had it, too.

For the better part of the last six decades, the U.S. has been the top dog.

As a side note, the U.S. didn't become top dog by choice, but rather by blessing of default -- as all of the other dogs at (or near) the top of the pile beat the crap out of each other (in their own yards, nonetheless), essentially decimating themselves, and leaving the U.S. as the only one still standing with the majority of their resources, infrastructure and economy intact.

However, history clearly demonstrates that power and wealth is temporal -- no one stays at the top forever. As such, I've no doubt that the day will eventually come when another dog will be sitting pretty at the top of the pile, and the U.S. relegated to a less enviable position.

Whether such a change occurs in this generation, or not until well beyond the lifetimes of everyone presently living, I am fairly certain that it will happen. When it does, I believe the rest of the world will espouse two, very different sentiments...

Initially, I'm guessing that much of the globe will express unmitigated glee at the downfall of the U.S. They'll be giddy in celebration. "Hah,hah! The American taskmaster has fallen!!" (insert ecstatic, drunken revelry here)

After a while, however, I imagine that it will dawn on many of them that the nation who single-handedly has given more to the rest of the world (its enemies, included) has stopped sending the checks, and sadly, the era of global welfare will have ended.

They will also likely realize (in relative short order) that the nation which could consistently be depended upon to bail their posteriors out of the fire was conspicuously missing. "Oh dear! There's no one standing between that nasty neighbor and me anymore!! And I don't like the way they're eyeing-up my resources/wealth/citizenry/take your pick..."

For all of the U.S.'s faults (and yes, we've had plenty) the U.S. could've played the card the Soviets had in Eastern Europe, and occupied all of Western Europe with satellite, puppet regimes. They could've pulled out of Europe altogether, and let Stalin march to the Atlantic (and then some). They could've ignored a lot of their neighbor's "little problems", for which they consistently and willingly shed the blood of their youth for causes which (in no way) had any bearing on the way we lived our lives back here in the good old U.S.A.

I can only hope (for the sake of those who have been the ungrateful recipients of America's good will) that when that day does come, that whoever succeeds the U.S. to the top of the pile will demonstrate at least a fraction of compassion and generosity that the U.S. has over the past six decades. After all, there's no guarantee that the next top dog has to be a Truman or Marshall. He (or she) could just as well be a Nero, Ghengis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, or Stalin.

Sometimes one never realizes how good one has it until it's gone.