It’s been clear to readers of this blog that for years public sentiment has been on the side #LockTheClock — ending clock changing for Daylight Saving Time — but the evidence has been a bit scattered and anecdotal.
That’s about to change.
Californians get to vote on Proposition 7 — The Permanent Daylight Saving Time Measure — and we’ll finally have some clear data to show to the world about how the public feels about this issue.
Now, it can be a bit confusing figuring out exactly what this proposition is, and the proposition doesn’t actually do a whole lot. It basically sets some governmental wheels in motion that may lead to an end to the clock changing.
But what it can do for sure is let lawmakers in California and around the world know exactly how popular it is to have the government force all of us to get all goofed up twice a year.
So, what are some of the pros and cons of voting on Prop 7?
Pros – Reasons to vote Yes on Prop 7
- Let politicians know that you are watching.
- Send a message to farmers that you know that farmers have ALWAYS been against DST clock changing, and you support them and you like eating.
- Let the world know that science and research should drive our decisions about how we set the clocks, not “That’s the way we’ve always done it”-ism.
- Give yourself a little hope that government can get something right.
- Put California in the spot of leading on this issue, something that Florida is trying to steal away. Of course, Arizona, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are already way ahead of everyone on this one.
- Great way to vote for something that will not cause a big fight with your crazy uncle who lives in [insert Michigan, or wherever he lives here] on Facebook.
- It’s lucky Number 7!
Cons – Reasons to vote No on Prop 7
- You like suddenly having to go home from work in the dark on the Monday after the “Fall Back” time change.
- You enjoy that groggy feeling on the Monday morning after the “Spring Forward” time change.
- You are in favor of traffic accidents, workplace accidents, strokes, heart attacks, decreased productivity, etc.
- You think it’s best to be on the losing side of history.
- You think Kaiser Wilhelm got a bad wrap in WWI in Germany, and you want to see his legacy live on.
- You enjoy figuring out how to reset the clock in the car, and on the microwave.
- You want California to be known as the state that votes for crazy stuff, not stuff that people actually want.
So, there you have it.
If you live in California, tell all your friends and relatives to vote yes on this one, and if you don’t, this would be a great time to keep in touch with your California pals and tell them to vote yes to make the whole world a better place.