The first few months of the year have always been my least favorite. I grew up in a Chicago suburb, and I do not recall fondly these weeks when winter felt eternal. School started around 7:45 a.m. When I woke up, it would still be dark as night outside. It would still be night when I’d get to school. Eight hours later, I would step out of its fluorescent hallways and the sun would already be behind the trees; by the time I got home, it would be night again. Let me tell you, this psychological hardship instills character in da yoots.
So I have always looked forward to today: Daylight Savings Time day. The “loss” of one hour of sleep was a low price for having “gained” an hour of sunlight to enjoy after school. Most of us thought then that DST should just become standard time year-round. In fact, things nearly became so when I was in high school: in 2007, Congress extended DST to cover March-November. I’d even say that most of us thought that Congress would finish the job before, say, a flying car went to market. It’s common sense. It’s easy to fix. It’s just logical, right?
For years, Monthly writers have visited and revisited this topic, usually agreeing with the idea of making DST permanent. Years of posts–and nutin’ yet to show for it. And so the damned thing still has to be written every year. I pulled the shift this time. And like years past, there’s legislation on the table to finally do the right thing: On Wednesday, Florida Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation–righteously titled the Sunshine Protection Act–to make DST permanent.
So here we go again: For the love of all that is holy, make DST permanent.
