I want to thank all those who responded to my inquiry about the "energy" available to move Minneapolis and, as was suggested, Saint Paul toward smoke-free restaurants and bars. The positive and negative responses were fairly evenly divided, although the intensity of those who viewed such an agenda as "fascistic" added a bizarre quality to the discussion. As some readers may recall, I found such hysterical hyperbole somewhat amusing given the actual nature of fascism and totalitarianism. Indeed, anyone seriously wanting to confront such anti-democratic policies will have many opportunities to do so as the "smoke clears" from the recent election.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this brief discussion was the discussion about the relationship of public policy to private rights. This classic American debate seems worthy of further exploration on this as well as other issues because it encourages us to examine the relationship of government to democracy.
I promised to let folks know if I thought that the smoke-free Twin Cities issue merits further exploration through the mnforum. My conclusion is that, given the many other far more crucial issues facing us as a community, it is not. My own course of action will be to appeal to restaurants and bars that may be willing to go smoke free on given evenings and see if a "smoke-free movement" can emerge in that manner.
Arthur T. Himmelman
