SAVING DAYLIGHT by T. Edwin Perry
OK, today’s post is just me “Pissing & Moaning” about something that quite simply irks me: Daylight Savings Time. Last weekend, in case you’ve already forgotten, those of us in States that OBSERVE Daylight Savings Time (Not all of them do, you know) all had to set our clocks AHEAD by one hour so that it is dark later in the morning and light later in the evening. In the Fall, we’ll have to take the time to set our clocks BACK by one hour to do the same thing all over again because of the natural angle of the earth in relation to the sun.
Now, sure, I could talk about all kinds of other subjects today, but this is one of those things that just gets my goat. It’s kind of like “Black History Month,” which introduced “White America” to the struggles of its Black Citizens. (Now it’s really just an excuse to segregate history, but I’ve already made that point before.) Sure, there was a time when this type of “Government Intervention” made sense…you know, when everybody lived on farms and had to coordinate school & chores…but those days are long past, and unless you happen to live on a farm, and the odds are that you don’t, I think that this type of scheduling manipulation is nothing more than the Government flexing its proverbial Muscle for the simple reason that it can.
Of course, there is an economic reason for Daylight Savings Time, and that is the use of Sunlight instead of artificial lighting. After all, when the evenings remain light longer, it allows people to enjoy some time in the sun between the end of a typical workday and going to bed at night, and that means less use of electricity or other forms of lighting in order to read or spend time with family & friends. The fact that most people still have lights turned on when there’s daylight outside is irrelevant: this is the economic reason that is generally given to support Daylight Savings.
Athletes, of course, appreciate the time change, too. After school activities, such as Baseball, Basketball and Football, benefit from the additional time outdoors in the light. Children playing in parks and their own yards benefit from it, too, giving them the opportunity to “burn off” that extra energy that drives their parents crazy throughout the night. (Tired children, especially when they’re young, generally make for happy parents.) And I suppose there is also a benefit for people running errands after work not having to depend on street lights and their car’s headlights to see where they’re going.
So, OK, there’s still a reason for Daylight Savings Time. I get it, but that DOESN’T mean that I have to like it. After all, like so many people, I don’t have kids (I’m sure there are people rejoicing at that fact), I’m not an athlete (as evidenced by my periodic self-deprecating fat jokes), and I don’t live on a farm (I just look like I do). What I am is irritated that in the Spring, I lose ONE HOUR out of my schedule and feel like I’m jetlagged for the entire week as my body adjusts to its new schedule, and then I get ONE EXTRA HOUR in the Fall, and feel just as jetlagged for THAT following week. It’s irritating, and as irrational as it may seem, I just felt the need to vent.
How do you feel about it?
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