Just as we govern ourselves with a series of checks and balances, we embrace the same idea in international affairs. In short, we don't seek hegemony. We don't have the temperament or the inclination for it, nor do we have the means. In addition, the assertion that our NATO Allies are manipulated with impunity by the United States simply isn't true. Defensive, democratic alliances don't work that way, either in Europe or elsewhere.
Democratic alliances reach agreement collectively after much give and take.
Massachusetts people like me learn very early in life that people who live north of us in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and our Canadian cousins as well, are just like us. They don't take orders from anyone. Neither do democratic allies like the Norwegians, the Dutch or the Australians, to name but a few. Far from exacerbating international tensions, the United States and its Alliance partners in Europe and elsewhere have worked very hard to reduce them. In addition, since the end of the Cold War, NATO has radically reduced its reliance on nuclear forces.