Permanent Daylight Savings Time may make a difficult adjustment – but at least we would not have to change our clocks twice a year! / Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Whitney Walmer
Associate Arts & Culture Editor
The Senate has passed a bill making daylight savings time permanent, alleviating the public concern for changing the clock twice a year. The bill is called S.623, The Sunshine Protection Act, and sponsored by Marco Rubio, set to change the concept of time for Americans as we know it. If the bill is passed through the House, the change is set to take effect on November 23, 2023.
Even though the origins of daylight savings time may seem murky and unknown, the practice has stood for more than 139 years after its introduction by the railroads. Many have thought through the years that one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, first orchestrated the idea, but that is not true. Benjamin Franklin teased about the concept of rising earlier in his satirical essay “The Economical Project,” but mainly focused on the idea of daylight versus artificial light.
The initial daylight savings act was adopted to preserve daylight and create standardized time in 1918, and was designed to save energy during World War I. Getting rid of daylight savings has been an ongoing thought since it was initially codified in 1918, but it was not repealed even after unsatisfied farmers organized protests. Going forward in time, there were no objections to the matter for some time. Later, there was the introduction of the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation act of 1974. The action was considered a two-year experiment between January 6, 1974, and April 7, 1975, to see the benefits of daylight saving, and whether it should remain as a custom. Ironically, Congress put an end to the experiment in October of 1974 with an expression that it was not safe in the winter mornings for children and people out and about in the earlier hours.
This time around, the idea of getting rid of daylight savings seems silly when time and focus could be put towards the economy and creating policies that could bring more stability for the country. The bill was passed through by unanimous consent, so there was no discussion on the matter, and the bill was expedited. Even though our lives get a little shuffled around when the clocks change, the custom began as an effort to promote safety. One thing is for certain: if this bill passes and is implemented, we will learn once and for all just how significant – or insignificant – this custom is.
