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Abstract

alking the sidewalks was doing the same thing. And then all the storefronts emptied out. Everyone came outside to look up and experience the sunshine. No one moved. They just stood there absorbing the sunshine.It was like a science fiction movie where a huge alien spacecraft is suddenly hovering over the city and everyone stops what they’re doing and looks up at it.And then after about 10 minutes the sun went back behind the clouds and we didn’t see it again for another two weeks. Everyone proceeded to go back to whatever they were doing.The sad truth of the matter is that Daylight Savings Time cannot do anything for the poor people living in Western Washington State. It cannot provide them with additional daylight and it certainly cannot provide additional sunshine. If you’re a sunshine addict like me the only solution is to move away from there as quickly as you can…. which is exactly what I did.Over the years I have pondered what it might be like to live in Bali, which is right on the equator. There I would never have to suffer through a winter with minimal daylight and sunshine. The days there are pretty much the same length all year long.But that’s the rub. There is no contrast. Yes, winter days are longer but summer days are shorter! Being an occupant of the northern hemisphere of this glorious planet, the three most perfect days of the year for me are the day before, the day after, and the day of the summer solstice; the three longest days of the year, the three days when the supply of sunshine is at it greatest. As a sunshine addict, I am never happier than on those three days.Over the years I have fantasized about one possible solution to the Daylight Savings Time dilemma. That dilemma would be to stop the wobble of the planet exactly on the day of the northern hemispheric summer solstice. That way every day would be long and sunny from then on.The problem, once again, is that there would be no contrast. Plus, I think the people living in the southern hemisphere might get really pissed off about that. While we’d be stuck in summer, they’d be stuck in winter. Luckily, stopping the wobble of the planet is something beyond the capabilities of our best scientists — and besides, they are too busy focusing on how to get off the planet and go to Mars rather than focusing on the exquisitely beautiful planet we are currently living on and which we are a part of.I wonder if our exalted leader, Mr. Trump, can solve the Daylight Savings Time problem. Yeah, right. He would no doubt approach the problem by trying to figure out how he can steal daylight from poor people in order to give that daylight to super-wealthy white men. No, that would only exacerbate our many other problems.I have come up with a few solutions to the Daylight Savings Time problem — some ludicrous and others even more ludicrous — but one solution might just work. And that would be t

Options

o throw all our clocks and calendars in the trash. If we give up our relentless fixation on linear time then Daylight Savings Time becomes utterly unnecessary.I can’t help think of the Native Americans who had no clocks. They lived by the rhythms and cycles of Mother Nature. They have laughed at those silly invading Europeans who think that they can “save daylight” merely by adjusting their clocks.Think about it. Without clocks and calendars and our unbreakable fixation on linear time the whole Daylight Savings Time debate becomes moot.Of course, it has been pointed out to me that there is still a problem with this solution. Without clocks and calendars how would we know when it’s time to pay the rent?The planet wobbles. Humans are an inexorable part of the planet. Our bodies consist of elements from the planet. When the planet wobbles we should wobble along with it. That is a natural and joyous way to live.But we have been fighting the planet for a long time now. Daylight Savings Time is one way we do that. The wobbling of the planet is one way the planet dances with us. When dancing the tango, it seems as though each dancer’s movements are in perfect sync and are perfectly complementary to each other. Well, the planet is dancing the tango with humans but with the introduction of Daylight Savings Time, humans are instead dancing some kind of funky disco dance that is completely out of rhythm, out of sync, with the planet’s tango. Perhaps it’s time for disco to finally die and for humans to learn how to tango.I have a friend who lives in Arizona, a state that some years ago abolished Daylight Savings Time. I have asked him how he likes living without Daylight Savings Time. He exuberantly replied that he loves it. He feels more in touch with nature and natural forces and he is not systematically discombobulated twice a year by time changes. He proclaimed that he would never, ever again live in a state that does Daylight Savings Time.Sadly, I live in a state that adheres to Daylight Savings Time as religiously as it adheres to outdated ultra right wing dogma that only causes problems and provides no solutions. I’ve wondered what it would be like to become a lone wolf revolutionary and stopped following Daylight Savings Time. Would it be possible for me to do that all by myself while everyone around still followed the dictates of time scrambling? I imagine that would create a lot of problems for me. For one thing, I’d be an hour late for work every day for a large portion of the year.It has become obvious to me that the only real solution to the Daylight Savings Time dilemma is to thoroughly scrap it everywhere. We must all stand up in solidarity to demand it be abolished. Who’s with me?Copyright by <a href="https://readmedium.com/white-feather-archive-index-c95167f7dbaf">White Feather</a>. All Rights Reserved.</article></body>

Possible Solutions To Daylight Savings Time

The annual debate rages on

Soon it will be time for a large portion of humans to change their clocks and for the bi-annual debate about Daylight Savings Time to resume prominence, however briefly, in the discussions among those humans.

I intend to offer some solutions to this ongoing dilemma but first I want to share how it affects me personally.

I happen to be a solar freak. Unlike certain writers on Medium I am most emphatically NOT a vampire. Not only do I have a very deep and passionate love of garlic but I simply cannot get enough sunshine. For me, daylight is not enough. I need sunshine. I need the actual life-giving rays of sunshine to touch me and empower me and nourish me and I need that 365 days a year for as many hours each day as possible.

If you ever wanted to torture me all you would have to do is lock me in a room without windows with only artificial light from a light bulb. Within 24 hours I would tell you everything you wanted to know and I’d be down on my knees begging you to let me out. Within 36 hours I would be contemplating suicide.

I simply cannot live without sunshine!

The most horrifying winter I’ve ever experienced in my life was the winter of that year I lived way up there near Seattle, Washington (close to the North Pole). If I remember correctly, in the dead of winter the sun doesn’t rise there until after 9 in the morning and it sets by 3 in the afternoon. Those measly 6 hours of daylight are made worse by the fact that it is ALWAYS cloudy and the sun never shines. Summers in Washington State are paradise but winters are truly hell on Earth.

That winter in Washington was the first time in my life that I experienced true, deep depression. Being so close to the North Pole and being so extremely deprived of sunshine is no doubt the reason people there suffer some of the highest rates of depression in America. There is no better cure for depression than sunshine. That winter in Washington was the closest I’ve ever come to completely losing my mind.

I remember once during that dreadful winter we went 42 days straight without the sun ever piercing through the impenetrable blanket of clouds that hangs over that part of Washington all winter long. It was on the 43rd day that I was in Olympia on some business and I was walking down the street downtown.

Suddenly, there was a tiny break in the clouds and the sun broke through. I immediately stopped walking and closed my eyes as I turned my face upwards to soak up as much sunshine as I could. I could feel myself getting happy! I could feel joy erupting in my body. Then I opened my eyes and looked around me and saw that everyone else walking the sidewalks was doing the same thing. And then all the storefronts emptied out. Everyone came outside to look up and experience the sunshine. No one moved. They just stood there absorbing the sunshine.

It was like a science fiction movie where a huge alien spacecraft is suddenly hovering over the city and everyone stops what they’re doing and looks up at it.

And then after about 10 minutes the sun went back behind the clouds and we didn’t see it again for another two weeks. Everyone proceeded to go back to whatever they were doing.

The sad truth of the matter is that Daylight Savings Time cannot do anything for the poor people living in Western Washington State. It cannot provide them with additional daylight and it certainly cannot provide additional sunshine. If you’re a sunshine addict like me the only solution is to move away from there as quickly as you can…. which is exactly what I did.

Over the years I have pondered what it might be like to live in Bali, which is right on the equator. There I would never have to suffer through a winter with minimal daylight and sunshine. The days there are pretty much the same length all year long.

But that’s the rub. There is no contrast. Yes, winter days are longer but summer days are shorter! Being an occupant of the northern hemisphere of this glorious planet, the three most perfect days of the year for me are the day before, the day after, and the day of the summer solstice; the three longest days of the year, the three days when the supply of sunshine is at it greatest. As a sunshine addict, I am never happier than on those three days.

Over the years I have fantasized about one possible solution to the Daylight Savings Time dilemma. That dilemma would be to stop the wobble of the planet exactly on the day of the northern hemispheric summer solstice. That way every day would be long and sunny from then on.

The problem, once again, is that there would be no contrast. Plus, I think the people living in the southern hemisphere might get really pissed off about that. While we’d be stuck in summer, they’d be stuck in winter. Luckily, stopping the wobble of the planet is something beyond the capabilities of our best scientists — and besides, they are too busy focusing on how to get off the planet and go to Mars rather than focusing on the exquisitely beautiful planet we are currently living on and which we are a part of.

I wonder if our exalted leader, Mr. Trump, can solve the Daylight Savings Time problem. Yeah, right. He would no doubt approach the problem by trying to figure out how he can steal daylight from poor people in order to give that daylight to super-wealthy white men. No, that would only exacerbate our many other problems.

I have come up with a few solutions to the Daylight Savings Time problem — some ludicrous and others even more ludicrous — but one solution might just work. And that would be to throw all our clocks and calendars in the trash. If we give up our relentless fixation on linear time then Daylight Savings Time becomes utterly unnecessary.

I can’t help think of the Native Americans who had no clocks. They lived by the rhythms and cycles of Mother Nature. They have laughed at those silly invading Europeans who think that they can “save daylight” merely by adjusting their clocks.

Think about it. Without clocks and calendars and our unbreakable fixation on linear time the whole Daylight Savings Time debate becomes moot.

Of course, it has been pointed out to me that there is still a problem with this solution. Without clocks and calendars how would we know when it’s time to pay the rent?

The planet wobbles. Humans are an inexorable part of the planet. Our bodies consist of elements from the planet. When the planet wobbles we should wobble along with it. That is a natural and joyous way to live.

But we have been fighting the planet for a long time now. Daylight Savings Time is one way we do that. The wobbling of the planet is one way the planet dances with us. When dancing the tango, it seems as though each dancer’s movements are in perfect sync and are perfectly complementary to each other. Well, the planet is dancing the tango with humans but with the introduction of Daylight Savings Time, humans are instead dancing some kind of funky disco dance that is completely out of rhythm, out of sync, with the planet’s tango. Perhaps it’s time for disco to finally die and for humans to learn how to tango.

I have a friend who lives in Arizona, a state that some years ago abolished Daylight Savings Time. I have asked him how he likes living without Daylight Savings Time. He exuberantly replied that he loves it. He feels more in touch with nature and natural forces and he is not systematically discombobulated twice a year by time changes. He proclaimed that he would never, ever again live in a state that does Daylight Savings Time.

Sadly, I live in a state that adheres to Daylight Savings Time as religiously as it adheres to outdated ultra right wing dogma that only causes problems and provides no solutions. I’ve wondered what it would be like to become a lone wolf revolutionary and stopped following Daylight Savings Time. Would it be possible for me to do that all by myself while everyone around still followed the dictates of time scrambling? I imagine that would create a lot of problems for me. For one thing, I’d be an hour late for work every day for a large portion of the year.

It has become obvious to me that the only real solution to the Daylight Savings Time dilemma is to thoroughly scrap it everywhere. We must all stand up in solidarity to demand it be abolished. Who’s with me?