It also lends some credence to the "Germany was never really souvereign" theory.
[1] Just check the comment sections in the major German newspapers.
Inevitably, signs of "foreign control" turns out to be some form of competition, cooperation, trade or just plain common interests.
What counts more is that Germans are allowed to say anything they want, there is no evidence of tampering in elections, the press is free and extensive, and people can largely do as they please. Nothing is ever perfect, but claiming US sovereignty over Germay is just plain stupid.
- Say anything they want: Unless you mention the H with the J's... and cough Horst Köhler cough
- No evidence of tampering in elections: mmmmmmh there are always issues in the east and there is always something coming up in small districts or states. They are not major but important nonetheless (Read: Local press)
- The press is free and extensive: LOL!!!!!!!!! Axel Springer and Spiegel dictate the opinion here, everyone else is a jew-baby-eating holocost denier.
- people can largely do as they please: yes, if they can afford a lawyer to help them with the paperwork.
Not getting into this stuff and just accepting everything would be plain stupid.
However, here are some of the arguments I find interesting:
- A decent amount of videos about this topic can be found on youtube, most of the feature also Schäuble (Minister of Finance) saying that Germany neither is nor ever was souvereign.
- Untampered elections are necessary but not sufficient for democracy. What if you elect someone and the newly elected just do as they please after the election? (see US or Germany)
- free press: This is my personal opinion but I often find that very interesting things happen worldwide and the German press doesn't care or all major journals have the same opinion (example: EU is good, Russia is bad, Ukraine is Putin's fault)
Don't wonder. Throughout the Cold War it was patriotic to sacrifice some of your nation's sovereignty to secret agreements and relationships to make your country safer from the very real Soviet threat.
Now all those agreements and relationships have been repurposed in the Global War on Terror. So first you have to decide how much sovereignty you, as an insider who took part in those agreements, want, and how much alienation from your voters you can stand.
Considering the comments I see on websites like the Guardian, I don't know why I'd trust the comments section on any German newspaper.
Maybe the Germans like that the US is footing the bill for most of the intelligence gathering in the world.
You bet we aren't outspending the US.
I would stubbornly refuse to call this a representative cross section of German opinion.