Check Power, Not People: Put Authority Through the Scanner

A ceremonial chair goes through a security scanner. The words redirect the inspection: “Check Power, Not People.” The familiar checkpoint becomes a way to ask who is being examined and who gets waved through.

The design grew from a brief about protecting democracy from the president. Here, the object of scrutiny is the seat of authority. The chair can be occupied by a person, but the argument is larger than a personality: public power should face questions about how it is used.

The scanner makes the idea legible in one scene. The Editorial follows it with the harder work: identifying the decision, the person or institution responsible, the people affected and the supporting record.

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Evidence and context

• Preamble; Article II section 1 oath clause