Those of you who are bound to protest about the biannual time change that comes due this Sunday morning (even though it results in an extra hour of sleep) ought to consider your ancestors’ role in all of this.
Fifty-two years ago this coming January, the nation adopted a year-round daylight saving time schedule. It was supposed to be a two-year experiment to help alleviate the energy crisis gripping the United States at that time.
But it didn’t take long for people — perhaps your own parents or grandparents — to erupt with complaints.
The Dayton, Ohio, Daily News set up a phone line for a limited time to let people vent. It got 283 calls. Four of every five callers were against it. (I obtained access to this through newspapers.com.)
“I don’t want the change,” one typical response went. “I would like to see where I am going in the morning.”
Darkness was a common theme. Some people worried women and children would become victims of kidnappings or sexual assaults while walking to school or work during dark mornings.
“If sheer stupidity were a valid basis for impeachment,” said another, “yearlong daylight saving time would do it for me.”
Another zipped right past Congress and aimed straight for the president. “If Mr. Nixon’s brains was in a jaybird’s head, he’d fly backwards.”
By the fall of 1974, Nixon had resigned (for other reasons) and Congress, bowing to public pressure, ended the permanent daylight saving experiment, perhaps for good.
Congress fails to end time change
Why bring this up now? Because the Senate just failed to pass a bipartisan bill that would have given states the ability to reinstate permanent daylight saving time. The Senate had passed such a bill in 2022, but the House never took it up. This time, its chances looked promising after President Trump issued a social media post that said the twice-yearly changing of the clocks is “a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
But Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, channeling 1974 America, said, “If permanent Daylight Saving Time becomes the law of the land, it will again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans.”
Despite winter often being dark and dismal no matter what the clock says, that ended the bill’s chances to pass quickly with unanimous consent, as it had three years earlier (the House then failed to pass it).
Currently, federal law allows states to choose to have standard time year-round. Arizona and Hawaii do this. But many states have pushed for the right to make daylight saving time permanent, instead.
Congress has a stake in the matter, simply because it would create nationwide confusion to have some states on standard and others on daylight saving time, even with our electronic devices keeping track for us. Presumably, Southern states would have less reason to pursue sunnier nights than those in the north.
Utah’s law
Utah passed a law in 2020 making daylight saving time permanent here, but only if at least four other Western states did the same and if something similar to the bill Cotton just scuttled were to pass in Washington.
I’ve been writing about this for many years now. You could build a strong coalition of those who are tired of changing their clocks every few months. Even getting an hour of extra sleep in November doesn’t prevent people from feeling sluggish and off-kilter for a few days.
But that’s where the agreement ends. Some people want longer sunshine in the evenings. Some want it lighter in the mornings. The battle shows no signs of ending.
Make it fun
Meanwhile, no one ever seriously considers my idea, which is to make the autumn change happen at precisely 8 a.m. on a Monday, rather than in the middle of the night Sunday. That way, most people would immediately get an extra hour of weekend fun before reporting for work.
In March, the time change would happen at 4 p.m. on a Friday, giving everyone a sudden and happy early weekend.
If we’re going to keep doing this clock-changing thing, we might as well have some fun.