Here we go again. Another season of clock manipulation is upon us. This weekend, we “fall back,” rewind our clocks one hour to undo all that we sought to achieve last spring. I have always been very vocal about my support for springing forward and leaving DST permanent. I was thrilled when Congress took up the “Sunshine Protection Act” in 2022, unanimously passing through the Senate. Of course, despite perfect bi-partisan support in one chamber, our government just let it die. But whatever, which is actually my position on DST vs. Standard Time as a whole. Would I prefer DST? Yes. Does it really mater? No. What we need to do is pick one and just leave it alone.
The clock is a human construct. We use the clock to manipulate the natural order of the world. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and the seasons change and it just does what it does. So every spring and fall we attempt to manipulate when the sun rises and sets for our own selfish ends. But the sun just does what it does. In fact, every single day, the relative amount of daylight changes based on natural law, not our clock. If you don’t like the time it starts to get light today, or what time the sun sets tonight…just wait longer!
Springing forward and falling backward may be the most nearsighted fixes to a problem that have ever existed, for you are not adding daylight…you are shifting it, creating a more desirable situation for some, and a less desirable situation for others. And in the end, it’s a fix so flawed that we have to undo it six months later! I personally love springing forward, but honestly, I don’t really care, ’cause Mama Nature gonna Mama Nature. Spring forward, fall backward (gold jacket, green jacket), I don’t care. Just do one of them and then LEAVE IT ALONE!!!
