We can consider our gesture a small contribution to defense of the West. But Soviet SS 20s with nuclear warheads have shaken the thinking of many people. Public opinion has been developing and leveled off at the current 60 percent support, although the politicians — except for Alexander Vondra — have never supported this idea strongly. But, if they had, the discussion would have turned up in many campaigns, as the communists predicted. We have to give a credit to former Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek, who usually seizes every opportunity to express his personal opinion. Paroubek, influenced by his poor reading of bad surveys, was strongly against the base. He tried to use our deep fear of foreign armies as a threat in his election campaign, but now he prefers the interests of the Czech state to that of voters. If that seems an obvious choice, remember Paroubek is leader of the opposition, right after a defeat in Parliament, who now has to fight for the same embittered voters as the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. And his experts on foreign policy (Jan Kavan and Lubomír Zaorálek) are famous for their anti-American attitudes. When we consider all these factors, let's admit Paroubek is doing very well.

No worries about our profits: 200 Americans will definitely buy the odd Czech dumpling and, along with Poland, we will manage to travel to the United States with no visa needed.

But still it is a major paradox. The experience we had with the Soviets and their SS 20s should recall a slightly different feeling than fear — we should welcome the U.S. base. The Poles have experienced the division of their country three times and even a map change — because they remember the Russians so well, the Polish government wants Americans in their country, Kamberský writes.

The world is full of democracy. Here in the Czech Republic, we have Social Democrats, Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats. Some 274 forms of the word democracy have appeared in Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) in the past month, Jan Rybář writes in MfD Jan. 19.

American Freedom House has published a report on the state of world democracy that asserts that nearly half the people on the planet live in free countries, more than one-third live in countries that aren't free, and the rest fall in the category of partly free countries.

There is more freedom now than ever before in history. But the report also found that in key countries, like Russia, there is less freedom. The overwhelming majority of Russians will undoubtedly tell you that they feel free, although further probing would reveal the restrictions.

And what is the state of Czech democracy? Grand, you could say ... but this does not mean you have a grand democracy. For example, I pay taxes to elected people and expect them to run the country in a responsible way. If they don't, then something must be wrong.

It is true that democracy is the worst form of government but the best of all that have been tried. But it's not easy with democracy. And it never will be, Rybář writes.