Fareed Zakaria:

Some of us—especially those under 60—have always wondered what it would be like to live through the kind of epochal event one reads about in books.

Well, this is it.

Amid all the difficulties and hardship that we are about to undergo, I see one silver lining. This crisis has—dramatically, vengefully—forced the United States to confront the bad habits it has developed over the past few decades. If we can kick those habits, today's pain will translate into gains in the long run.