Every March and November, America reenacts one of its strangest magic tricks: we lose an hour, then months later we find it again behind the couch cushions of November, dusty but intact, like the coins that fell out of our pockets back in the 1980s when people still used cash.

_{Note: this is a sample of my writing that I am saving for posterity.}

Daylight Saving Time (or “Savings,” if you enjoy making the grammar police twitch) turns us into a country of time sheriffs and clock anarchists, marching into the biannual skirmish armed with strong opinions, sleep deprivation, and a microwave that refuses to be set correctly on the first try. Thank goodness we ditched VCRs years ago, else we’d need to reprogram those too.

On one side, you have the Sun Lovers, who insist that evening sunlight is the difference between a thriving, vibrant society and 300 million people growling at each other in line at the grocery store.

“Think of the kids!” they cry, pointing toward soccer fields bathed in golden-hour glory, where children allegedly frolic rather than compile TikToks about how they never see daylight. The Sun Lovers promise backyard cookouts, post-work dog walks, and a mysterious bump in national happiness that arrives precisely at 7:13 p.m. with a slobbery chewed-up frisbee that the dog just brought back.

On the other side, you have the Sleep Loyalists, who will not be bribed by sunsets. They demand to know why the entire civilization must undergo jet lag without the consolation of airport pretzels or cavity searches at security. “My circadian rhythm has a lease and a lawyer,” they proclaim, clutching mugs of coffee like court exhibits. For them, switching the clocks is not a charming seasonal ritual; it’s an annual corporate training simulation in which everyone shows up glazed, late, and unable to remember their email password. It’s all too much for them.

Between these camps are the Clock Ambivalent, a quiet majority who don’t care which time we choose as long as we pick one and stop playing calendar hopscotch. Their core philosophy: If my oven clock and my dashboard clock tell the same time for 365 consecutive days, the world will know peace.

The science-y folks show up with charts about car accidents, heart attacks, and productivity dips during the “lost hour” week. The Sun Lovers counter with charts about outdoor activity, retail sales, and how nobody ever has fun in the dark unless they are raccoons. The Sleep Loyalists respond with graphs that look like EKGs and phrases like “phase delay,” which feels like something an airline would blame for your baggage going to Cincinnati. The Clock Ambivalent squint thoughtfully at the charts and think, I just want to know when lunch is.

And then there’s the technology angle. Your phone, laptop, and smartwatch all whisper among themselves overnight and wake up with the correct time like sophisticated spies. Meanwhile, your household appliances openly dare you to assert dominance. You lose each round. Consider your alarm clock: Staring at a blinking “12:00,” you jab a single button a thousand times to advance the hours, overshoot, and circle the horn again. By the end, you have acquired the upper-arm definition of a medieval gong-striker and the demeanor of a raccoon rummaging through a campsite.

Workplaces pretend nothing odd has happened, which is why the Monday after the switch feels like a corporate escape room. One with no escape. For some companies, that’s any day that ends in “y” but for few days, it’s all of them. Woe be the firm that runs low on coffee during that transitional period.

Schools attempt diplomacy. Bus routes are rewritten with the delicacy of a truce document. PTA newsletters arrive with cheerful clip art of suns wearing sunglasses, accompanied by the dead-eyed sentence: “Please remember to change your clocks!”

Pets are the true victims. Dogs turn to their humans with existential confusion: “It is clearly dinner o’clock. Your new religion is unacceptable.” Cats, already in possession of a flexible relationship with causality, simply switch to a governance model known as Absolute Monarchy. They don’t care what time it is, dinner time is now, and not serving your feline master comes at your own peril.

Someone Ought To Pass A Law!!

Of course, every time the Time Wars flair up, someone suggests “Congress do something about this!!” Ask yourself, when was the last time Congress did anything besides insider trading and party-based brinksmanship? They are as useless as a fish trying to drive a car.

• Option A: Permanent Standard Time (classic, sensible shoes, sunrise still means something).
• Option B: Permanent Daylight Time (party on the patio, flip-flops, the sun wears sunglasses, your sunglasses wear sunglasses).
• Option C: Abolish hours and minutes entirely and tell time by vibes (popular among some surfers and many jazz musicians).

What Florida Has Done About Daylight Saving Time

Florida’s state legislature already passed a DST bill in 2018. House Bill 1013—nicknamed the “Sunshine Protection Act”—says Florida intends to stay on permanent Daylight Saving Time (no more clock changes) if federal law is changed to allow it. It became Ch. 2018-99 and is reflected in Florida Statutes (s. 1.025(2)).

Why it hasn’t taken effect: Under the federal Uniform Time Act, states can choose permanent standard time on their own, but cannot choose permanent DST without an act of Congress. So Florida’s 2018 law is on pause until Congress says yes.

What Congress is doing now (2025): Companion “Sunshine Protection Act” bills are active this Congress—S.29 in the Senate and H.R.139 in the House—to make DST the national year-round time (with opt-outs for states that prefer standard time). As of late October 2025, the push stalled again in the Senate.

Whichever option wins, half the country will claim victory and the other half will start a podcast about the end of civilization. The Clock Ambivalent will shrug and update one final IKEA wall clock, promising themselves that this, at least, is the last indignity—until they glance at the microwave and realize it’s still blinking 12:00, like a tiny lighthouse guiding ships of shame into the Bay of Regret.

But maybe—stay with me—maybe the biannual clock chaos serves a sacred civic function. Twice a year we collectively admit that time is a little made-up, that society runs on a handshake agreement, and that the only thing separating order from chaos is a stack of sticky notes and an undercaffeinated parent with a minivan.

In an era where everything seems ferociously important, the clockfight is gloriously petty. It’s a safe argument—one we can hold in the palm of our hand, measure in minutes, and let go of it like a helium balloon at a birthday party. If the balloon pops, who cares? We never end up screaming at the top of our lungs about this issue. We say our piece and then go about our business.

Wait a second! Here’s a really crazy idea: maybe if we all collectively debated all of our disagreements the same way we do this one, maybe we’d figure out reasonable solutions. Hmm. It’s not a bad thought. Definitely worth a try.

So this year, when the Clockfight breaks out again, choose your banner and march: bask in the late sunsets, defend the sanctity of morning, or simply cover the stove’s clock with a piece of electrical tape. Set your watches, update your calendars, and reassure your dog. And if all else fails, do what the truly enlightened do: call in late to to work the day after the time change, and schedule everything for “-ish” for the following week.

See you at 7. Or 8. I’m not sure which.

Oh, and “Please remember to change your clocks!”