American culture is like this: start from scratch, then beat you.

That's why I have confidence that the U.S. economy will recover. In the past, they lost to Japan and Germany in manufacturing, but later they created the internet, Microsoft, Bill Gates, and Dell... What kind of mindset does it take to do that? That's part of their history.
They entered an empty continent and made full use of it—killing Native Americans, seizing land and buffalo. So that's how they developed: you build a town here, you become the sheriff, I become the judge, you become the police, you become the banker, and we get started.
And this culture has continued to this day. It is a belief: just do it, and you can make things happen.
Lee Kuan Yew's words here perfectly explain why America can succeed, why it can still stand tall 250 years after its founding.