APA don't go away

The main point that I took away from the readings last week was that there was a lot of drama surrounding the APA after it created the APA Act and the SLMP. So much drama that someone tried to set fire to the agency’s building, and people were calling and threatening the agency. The executive director himself was incensed with how the Agency was unraveling and how the Park continued to move towards self-destruction.

Yet the part I found most odd was how weak the APA members were, especially considering they were the ones running Agency meetings. No one wanted to propose something that might offend a certain group or municipality. No one wanted to be bold enough to take a stand (while every resident of the Park would be screaming for change). Most surprisingly, they were reluctant to do anything for fear that people might not like them.

In all my years, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no one likes their government. The government isn’t designed to be liked, especially because they often have to make unpopular decisions for the benefit of the whole. But the APA is absolutely necessary for the Park to be protected. Without a strong APA, the Park governmental structure risks devolving into a conglomerate of self-interested municipalities that can’t take the best interest of the entire Park into account when making decisions.