This article really depicts the complexities of government.

Despite being reasonably knowledgeable of many social issues, I really could not follow this article with a “quick read.” Very likely, I would need to spend several hours with this articles to understand the author’s intent and follow his logic. I just don’t have several hours — and Maine is a little too far away from Alberta for me to justify finding those hours.

And yet, I can sense from the article Maine is making a very important decision about its future. Even if I found the time to study this issue, I still wouldn’t consider myself qualified enough to weigh in on the decision. Or perhaps for this Albertan shouldn’t be telling Maine what to do.

Again from the article, I am gleaning that legislation is being created without much public input or oversight. Should we trust the legislators to do the right thing for Maine? Hmmmm. The author does not seem to think so (from what I can understand). And he has the right to do what he can to bring some public attention to this issue.

Unfortunately, a lot of legislation is passed in legislatures with the public not really aware what is happening. Yes, the media and special interest groups and political opposition are watching. But the public has only so much attention span. Only when we get caught with a rule change do we then understand that the rules had changed.

We really need a better system of governance, one where we can find competent people to discuss all the alternatives and pros and cons, and come to a well thought out decision.