Will Americans get the leader they deserve on Nov 8? It is left to be seen, and, as in most cases, the chosen one grows into his role.

Mr Ronald Reagan was a notable example, going from a B-grade actor to quite a formidable president of the United States.

Mrs Hillary Clinton has stated that she is the last thing standing between Americans and apocalypse. Those words resound not just with her fellow Americans, but with all worldwide.

By next year, whether she or Mr Donald Trump is in the White House, the world is likely to be buffeted by change, and not necessarily for the better.

We will have to prepare ourselves for the worst in the new year, as traditional ways of doing business, and the relationships that go with it, become different and probably more difficult.

Even how we defend the country, and the arrangements we have made, may have to be realigned.

There are storms ahead, and how well we ride them out will be critical to our survival. This especially applies to a small nation like ours.

This is where the choices we make and how we handle our ties with others become even more crucial and subject to greater circumspection.

We must continue to chart our own course as best we can, without allowing for outside interference or influence.

For, at the end, we must do what is best for our own existence, continuing along the path we set for ourselves five decades ago, with subtle adjustments made to our system and how it works for us.

Manoraj Rajathurai