Regardless of Our Wishes, Daylight Saving Time About to End

It's a little less than two weeks off. Daylight Saving Time will officially end on Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 am.

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So, here we go again. We will have to change every clock in the house and most of us still don't understand why we continue to do this twice every year.

According to the website, standardtime.com,

Daylight saving time did indeed begin in the United States during World War I, primarily to save fuel by reducing the need to use artificial lighting. Although some states and communities observed daylight saving time between the wars, it was not observed nationally again until World War II.

Of course, World War II is long over. So why do we still observe daylight saving time?

It's a great question. Why are we still doing this? There is a huge faction growing in the country that would have us stay on Daylight Saving Time permanently. In fact, a number of states, including Louisiana, have passed legislation to do so, but most all await the Federal government to take the initiative to make Daylight Saving Time the standard for the country.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, making the clock changes is even unhealthy for us:

About half-a-dozen studies have found a 5% to 15% increased risk of having a heart attack during the days after shifting to daylight-saving time.

Though too late to debate the merits of this antiquated idea of time manipulation to make any difference for this year, most people are asking the same question; "Why are we doing this? Didn't Congress vote to stop it?"

That answer is a little convoluted. Yes, in the Spring of 2022, the United States Senate unanimously voted to pass a Senate bill called the Sunshine Protection Act.

That legislation would have made this year's time change back on March 12 the last time we would ever have to set our clocks forward. Essentially, once the clocks were set, we would remain on Daylight Saving Time permanently.

It Passed Unanimously By The Senate; But What Happened In The House?

However, the House of Representatives, did hold a hearing regarding the Act, never actually voted on it, so it's just out there, looming in the darkness of the "No Way We Can Find A Way To Pad Our Pockets With This So It's Not Worth Our Time" political black hole.

Nearly Two-Thirds Of Americans Want To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

So, if these politicians are truly serving their constituents, why are we still in this quagmire, as only 35% of all Americans surveyed think it's a good idea to keep resetting clocks every Spring and Fall?

We do know that Louisiana did get proactive with the possibility and passed a bill that would make it legal to stop the time changes on a state level if the legislation passed on a Federal level.

It's got to be one of the first times our state has actually outrun the Feds, but I was happy to see them act accordingly, even if it appears it was for naught.

With that sobering thought in mind, just prepare yourself to make the changes again this year; at least until the spring of 2024.

I understand why the idea was adopted during the early 1900's, but those days are long gone; like one hundred years long gone.

Is there some specific reason that lawmakers have yet to disclose that could justify the twice annual clock changes? If so, I sure wish they would lay out those reasons for all of us to see and understand.

Just remember, time falls back in the fall. So Saturday night, November 4, before you go to bed, set your clock BACK ONE HOUR and you’ll be good to go Sunday morning.