Yesterday was, of course, Daylight Savings, when the clocks go ahead one hour for the spring season, and the warmer season to come, as winter recedes.
However, it is not without controversy. A lot of people are complaining about it, not seeing any logic, and desiring it to end.
Many others are complaining, more lightheartedly, that they are tired. Hell, I feel admittedly exhausted while writing this, but will nonetheless push forward.
As the years go by, it seems that there is more debate than ever before about daylight savings, which is admittedly just something that, until recently, I simply took for granted.
However, it is not without controversy. A lot of people are complaining about it, not seeing any logic, and desiring it to end.
Many others are complaining, more lightheartedly, that they are tired. Hell, I feel admittedly exhausted while writing this, but will nonetheless push forward.
As the years go by, it seems that there is more debate than ever before about daylight savings, which is admittedly just something that, until recently, I simply took for granted.
What has surprised me is the vehemence with which this issue is met.
Yesterday morning, while listening to "Breakfast with the Beatles" on New York's Q-104.3, disk jockey Ken Dashow sounded off on it, as he has done in the past. Basically, he suggests that it makes no sense, and makes it quite clear that he resents losing that one hour of sleep. And he has gone off about it in the past, because I am a regular listener to that show, and have heard him do so. He thinks it is stupid.
Yet, he is hardly the most aggressive opponent of it. I have met a few people who seem to truly hate it, and speak against it with a vengeance. One guy, a coworker, sounded unforgiving and truly angry about it earlier today, saying,
"It's stupid! They should get rid of it!"
He has spoken ill of it before, in the short time that I have known him, and every single time, he sounds seriously angry about it. And in recent years, I have heard similarly angry views on it, which always surprised me. After all, it is one day of the year, and one hour of sleep. Not a full night, and not several days of the year. In fact, you get one extra hour of sleep in the autumn as a result.
So, why do people hold such damn strong views on this issue?
And so, I decided to go ahead and explore this issue a bit further for myself.
Indeed, this issue is a bit thorny, because it grows complicated. Mostly, this is due to political considerations. How so? Well, daylight savings time here in the United States comes weeks before it is recognized in Europe, which might cause some measure of confusion and possible complications, particularly in terms of business, flights, personal calls, and surely with computers. Also, some incdividual states do not observe it. Hawaii and Arizona do not observe it, and Florida is debating whether to keep or scrap it right now with HB 1013, also known as the "Sunshine Protection Act." If it passes, it would actually make the time change that we see in spring, with time moving up by one hour, permanent. It still would need Congressional approval to "amend the federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 to allow Florida to join Arizona and Hawaii in the list of states which do not observe daylight saving time."
Hmmm...interesting idea, to simply move the clock up one hour and make this change permanent, year-round.
So, what are the advantages and disadvantages to daylight savings?
Here are some that I thought of, and also found in a recent article on the Washington Post. You can probably think of some of your own, and please do share if you are so inclined to do so!
Indeed, this issue is a bit thorny, because it grows complicated. Mostly, this is due to political considerations. How so? Well, daylight savings time here in the United States comes weeks before it is recognized in Europe, which might cause some measure of confusion and possible complications, particularly in terms of business, flights, personal calls, and surely with computers. Also, some incdividual states do not observe it. Hawaii and Arizona do not observe it, and Florida is debating whether to keep or scrap it right now with HB 1013, also known as the "Sunshine Protection Act." If it passes, it would actually make the time change that we see in spring, with time moving up by one hour, permanent. It still would need Congressional approval to "amend the federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 to allow Florida to join Arizona and Hawaii in the list of states which do not observe daylight saving time."
Hmmm...interesting idea, to simply move the clock up one hour and make this change permanent, year-round.
So, what are the advantages and disadvantages to daylight savings?
Here are some that I thought of, and also found in a recent article on the Washington Post. You can probably think of some of your own, and please do share if you are so inclined to do so!
Pros:
- One hour extra of sleep, for one day, at least in fall.
- Perhaps it could be argued that there would be increased stability and less uncertainty, no need to adjust if it were taken away.
- Perhaps it could be argued that there would be increased stability and less uncertainty, no need to adjust if it were taken away.
Cons:
- One hour less of sleep, at least for one day in spring.
- Most of the nation enjoys an extra hour of daylight. Frankly, I enjoy days lasting later during the warmer months. Why not, after all?
- Quite dramatic change in our schedules, as we have them today. For example, I remember daylight in Seattle lasting comparably long to Parisian daylight in the summer, which is to say late, past 10pm. If we got rid of daylight savings, it would start to get dark shortly after nine in the evening there. In the New York City area, it would start to get dark not much later than eight in the evening. Sunrises would regularly occur before six in the morning from late March until almost October, and would come before five in the morning in and around late June.
So, I am not sure. After all, time is a human construct no matter what angle you think about it, right? We control official time, and so maybe this was a good idea, or maybe it was not. Maybe we should just leave it all alone, or maybe, as they are considering now in Florida, we should just push the hour ahead more permanently, and that would be more beneficial to some, and less to others, on a permanent basis?
I, for one, am not sure. But what I do feel is that this, like so many issues in the United States today, seems to be a bit forced and exaggerated. Really, it does not seem like that big of a deal to me, and it seems to me like it is just people complaining for the sake of complaining.
It would be nice to know what some others think, though. Is this a big deal? Do we need to change it, or is it fine the way that it is? If we change it, do we just keep what we recognize as regular time, or do we indeed permanently push the clocks ahead one hour?
Feel free to share your thoughts - I encourage it, by all means!
So, I am not sure. After all, time is a human construct no matter what angle you think about it, right? We control official time, and so maybe this was a good idea, or maybe it was not. Maybe we should just leave it all alone, or maybe, as they are considering now in Florida, we should just push the hour ahead more permanently, and that would be more beneficial to some, and less to others, on a permanent basis?
I, for one, am not sure. But what I do feel is that this, like so many issues in the United States today, seems to be a bit forced and exaggerated. Really, it does not seem like that big of a deal to me, and it seems to me like it is just people complaining for the sake of complaining.
It would be nice to know what some others think, though. Is this a big deal? Do we need to change it, or is it fine the way that it is? If we change it, do we just keep what we recognize as regular time, or do we indeed permanently push the clocks ahead one hour?
Feel free to share your thoughts - I encourage it, by all means!
Daylight saving time starts this weekend. Here’s how things would change if we got rid of it. By Justin Grieser March 9, 2018:
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