Truth crushed to the earth is truth still . . .: Stop the Madness; End the Biannual Resetting of Time

One day, I suspect the change to and from Daylight Savings Time (DST) will finally push some of us over the edge and be the catalyst that begins the much anticipated (and much needed) Revolution.

I mean from whence comes the state’s authority to regulate time? -- to force us all to reset all of our clocks twice a year? -- First to “lose” an hour; and then later to “gain” it back again.

A 2013 Rasmussen Report found that only 37 percent of Americans thought that daylight saving time (DST) is "worth the hassle." While 45 percent said it was not. The remainder evidently was not alert enough to understand or to answer the question -- since the government had disrupted their sleep patterns.

I searched out several articles about the energy savings allegedly attributed to DST; virtually all agreed that the savings were negligible at the best, or that energy consumption was actually increased at the worse.

An article in Live Science is representative of the findings:

Does Daylight Saving Time Really Save Energy?

http://www.livescience.com/56725-does-daylight-saving-time-save-energy.html

I found even more articles cataloging the adverse health effects of DST :

Daylight Saving Time Could Impact Your Health, Experts Say

By Kate Raddatz

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2017/03/11/daylight-saving-time-health-effects/

Why daylight saving time can be bad for your health

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/11/health/daylight-saving-time-health-effects/

7 Ways Daylight Saving Time Can Affect Your Health

By Amanda MacMillan

http://www.health.com/sleep/daylight-saving-time-health-risks

The last article above listed these seven adverse health effects:

1. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) success rates drop in March

2. Heart attacks spike after the spring time change

3. Stroke rates rise when DST starts and ends

4. Fatigue and “cyberloafing” are rampant

5. Teens are especially exhausted

6. Cluster headaches may strike

7. Depression diagnoses rise in the fall

As usual, the all-benevolent state intervenes in our daily lives with the supposed motivation of helping us, but because of unintended consequences [and oft times intended ones] they actually end up harming us, and sometimes killing us.

Another very helpful article, from Forbes magazine, brought together the virtually non-existent energy savings and the proven health liabilities associated with DST, providing an excellent summary. Additionally it noted two other harmful effects of DST: Increased criminal activity, and increased incidences of fatal automobile accidents.

“Daylight Saving Time, or DST, might do precious little to save energy, and may even increase energy consumption on the whole. Meanwhile, other studies have suggested links between DST and a variety of disturbing social outcomes, including increases in heart attacks and upticks in criminal behavior.

“A study out of the University of Colorado in October, titled ‘Spring Forward at Your Own Risk,’ suggested a strong association between the reduced sleep and reallocated daylight of DST and fatal car accidents. ‘The increased risk persists for the first six days of DST,’ the author states, ‘causing a total of 302 deaths at a social cost of $2.75 billion over the 10-year sample period.’”

Daylight Saving Time: Negligible Energy Savings, Possibly Deadly?

By Tom Zeller Jr.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomzeller/2015/03/06/daylight-savings-time-negligible-energy-savings-possibly-deadly/#ffc157072eb3

I realize that this is not the biggest issue we face, but it is yet another glaring example of the “benefits” that we all reap from a nanny government that is run amok.

It’s time to put an end to the madness. Perhaps we can start with something so simple as getting the government out of the business of controlling time.