The United States is known across the globe as the world’s superpower since the end of the Cold War but this may not be so anymore. It is also the land of the free. However, this may not be true in the coming months or years.

Of all the hundreds of luxuries such as the Internet and the many liberties we have for living in a free society, is that going to last much longer and if so what kind of changes are you willing to make?

Let’s begin by looking at the U.S. economy and “superpower” status. Since the U.S. emerged as the major power in the world at the end of the Cold War, we have spread our wealth and military might all across the globe in one form or another.

However, speaking economically, another giant has emerged. China has increased its influence internationally by its mass of industries and military. We can see this by looking at most of the products we own.

It’s hard to find American products in our own nation. What does this mean? Well, setting aside our debt to other nations as well as China, the large nation has recently been coming up to par with the U.S. economy. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal stated “many economists as well as former Chairman Alan Greenspan predict that within 20 years the United States will no longer be the huge economic power as it was back in the 90’s.”

The final thing to be pointed out in this part of my two-part article is the freedom of the Internet.

We all love to visit our favorite sites and read the blogs. We sweep through the Net only worrying about viruses. But what if the Net was controlled by the U.S. government in terms of the use of it? Imagine only seeing what the government wants you to see. Sounds like something a conspiracy theorist would say right? Wrong. This is in fact very real.

Congress is discussing this with very little opposition and it has now gone to the Senate. The bill known as the Net Neutrality Bill states that providers can restrict or disrupt your access to Web content and applications in a variety of ways, such as what kind of blogs are appropriate and numerous other ways. They can tell you what you can and cannot view.

More about this will be available in my next column. The next column discusses many ways the U.S. may not be free for much longer and more information on the Internet bill.