Fading American Power: External Threats

In the 20th century, America being the world's superpower dictated many events worldwide, regardless of it being social, political, religious or economic. However, as nations rise and fall, tides have turned against the US today. Now, we shall explore how external threats have caused US dynamism to wane today.
To start, with the advent of the Internet, there has been increased online shopping. This has led to bad business for shopping centers and retailers which once made up America's competitive edge over other nations. With the world linked by the Internet, American consumers can also find cheaper and better goods outside the US and the trend for decline in these industries will likely go on. With the erosion of a competitive niche, America has already lost one of its trump cards and this will eventually lead to deterioration of its economy.
In addition, the media industry is also weakening as TV networks increasingly lose advertisers to the Internet. Today, more people use the Internet than watch TV, making the Web a bigger market than SABE501V ever. With the Internet entailing globalization, TV networks have to keep up with times by innovating. However, given the rapid pace the Internet is growing, it is very hard for the media industry today to catch up with it despite its commendable efforts in changing. Given such change going on, the failure of America to adapt has caused its growth to decline and with this, its power fades.
To add on, airlines are also losing business because people can now communicate via the Internet. With this ability, number of air travels have fallen as people now do not have to meet face-to-face to close business deals. Also, it is more affordable for business discussions to be conducted online. Given better alternatives, it is inevitable that airlines face tougher competition and with this decline in the industry, America's power in the world has to wane.
Moreover, China's GDP has been growing rapidly and it will be soon when it takes over the US as the world's richest country. The expanding influence of China has also affected the world's view of the US dollar, hinting that it shouldn't be the reserve currency anymore. Should this privileged status enjoyed by the dollar be challenged or even removed, the 150-420 economic health of America will face serious complications as it can no longer pay its bills by printing money. This also removes the once constant demand of the US dollar, pushing its economy down the slope towards ruin.
Furthermore, unlike the 20th century, the US is the world's biggest debtor nation today and the ever-growing debt bubble is simply an evil festering in its economy. While debt can be used as medicine to cure symptoms of economic diseases, too much of it is poison and many of its side effects are already surfacing. One example would be capital flowing out of the economy as some investors have begun to lose confidence in the US. If this occurs on a large scale, America will no longer be able to ride on its glory. Instead, it will head towards doom.
In addition, its military is over-extended today. The huge costs involved in maintaining such a defense force will place significant amounts of stress on the economy and all these will likely pile up when the US begins to acquire more resources militarily. With this, 150-610 defense spending will continue rising and this again increases US debt. Too much debt is harmful to the economy as it will force tax increases to fund the interest payments. This will reduce America's attractiveness as an investment hub and with the invasion of pessimism, America will collapse.
Hence, to conclude, with these external threats taking the US by storm, America has to take action fast to avoid losing to others in this competitive era. Or else, it will really be time for America to be overtaken by other rising powers.