A bipartisan group of senators — led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — is discussing the most important issue of our time. The time.
They want to “lock the clock” and forever be done with the ridiculous, primitive practice of changing our clocks twice a year. And they’re discussing if the best way to do that is to make Daylight Saving Time, our current clock position, permanent.
This is the clear best way to go, and they seem to have won over President Donald Trump. After arguing for keeping Standard Time perfect just a few months ago, the president is now urging Congress to “push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day.”
“The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!! DJT” he wrote on Truth Social.
On Thursday, Cruz focused his opening remarks on addressing the time change and examining how Congress can “end this outdated and harmful practice.” Later in the hearing, Cruz said that, among his Senate colleagues, there is general agreement on ending the time change by adopting DST. Others, however, want to stick to Standard Time permanently. These misguided individuals prefer daylight early in the mornings, and want to deprive normal people of sunshine later in the evenings when people are actually awake.
The defenders of Standard Time include so-called health experts who argue that Standard Time is more aligned with our Circadian rhythm and helps our sleep cycle. Another argument for Standard Time truthers, and probably a more convincing one, is that DST forces children to go to the bus stop in the dark while Standard Time provides some daylight for the early morning treks to school. But even this argument doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny, and could be easily solved with a slight bump to school start times.
Adopting DST is easy to defend. More sunlight in the evenings is far more valuable than daylight in the mornings. The evening is when most people get a chance to be outside, while mornings are usually spent inside getting ready for work and school.
DST is pro-family, pro-community, and pro-worker. The extended period of sunlight in the evening provides precious time for hardworking men and women to get chores done around the house, or enjoy time with the kids in the great outdoors after clocking out. More sunshine in the evening also allows youth sports teams more time for practices and games, and boosts foot traffic in entertainment districts before darkness takes over.
DST is also a big boost for golf courses, which get a huge chunk of their business from late afternoon and evening tee times. President Trump, a big golfer himself, surely understands that.
Cruz acknowledged in his remarks on Thursday, “There are very real and complicated issues and countervailing arguments on both sides.”
“There is widespread agreement on locking the clock … but the reason we’re holding these hearings is because these are real arguments and they have real impacts on people,” he said.
Hopefully, the truth that Daylight Saving is better for America will be made clear in these hearings. As of now, reason appears to be on the verge of victory.
