#83 / No ... King

The office building where I work is a "no smoking" zone. That is not necessarily because the landlord and building owner is of the "no smoking" persuasion. It's because elected officials in the City of Santa Cruz enacted a "no smoking" ordinance, utilizing the "police powers" that are generally available to all local governments, throughout the United States. As I recall, this was a pretty controversial decision, when it was first made. You can check out Section 6.04.060 of the City of Santa Cruz Municipal Code, if you'd like to see a real world example of democracy in action.

In the men's room adjacent to my office, this exercise in democratic self-government is celebrated by what I think has been an admirable example of guerrilla art, illustrated in the photo associated with this post.

As a student of American history, and particularly of the American Revolution, the "No...King" commandment is where democracy begins, at least for me.