Change By Ryan Robinson
Change. It’s what our President-Elect says he will do in office. Change. It’s another word that means to transform or convert. Change. It’s another word that means to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else. According to www.dictionary.com, there are 38 listings under the word.
Just today, I was helping my dad outside cleaning up the back of our backyard. It was really overgrown and with rocks galore. We needed to clean it up since we will be getting a fence for our dog. As we were working starting around 2pm, moving rocks, cutting branches, and other “clean-up” activities, time flew by. Around 4:30pm, I looked up at the sky. Already, the sun was starting to fade away. I still remember myself saying, “Wow. What time is it,4:30?!” The sun was already going down and it was only 4:30pm. It was not even evening and the sun was setting. But, hold on! If you are a smart person, you’re going to tell me that’s not true. You see, the sun really doesn’t change the time it sets. Of course it does somewhat because of the way the Earth turns, and it’s axis, etc. But for the most part, it always feels strange around this time because of Daylight Savings.
Now just last year, the US Government changed Daylight Savings. They shifted Daylight Savings by an hour because of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. According to the Government, this new “switch” is supposed to save energy. This is an interesting paragraph or so from the California Energy Commission Website:
“In general, energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up. Bedtime for most of us is late evening through the year. When we go to bed, we turn off the lights and TV. In the average home, 25 percent of all the electricity we use is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, we can cut the amount of electricity we consume each day. Studies done in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that we trim the entire country’s electricity usage by about one percent EACH DAY with Daylight Saving Time.”
So, there you have it. That’s why the Government changed it. Yet, however, on the same website it says, “Newer studies are being done to see if that long-held reason is true”. That is the big conspiracy behind Daylight Savings. Still, most Americans don’t get why it was done. If you ask me, when the sun sets earlier, you use more electricity. When my Dad and I were working outside, the motion sensor lights were on at 5pm compared to 6 or 7pm before the new Daylight Savings. Some Americans think that the Government did it just to keep the American Public on their toes and to stay awake when something new or a change happens. There’s that word again – change.
What do you think? Is change good? Is it bad? Does it matter the circumstances? Right now, I’m thinking about Ed Flynn. He is a great writer and I almost always read his column in the Suburban News. Yet do you notice a pattern in his writing? If not every, most of his pieces are about how things USED to be. Just in the Suburban for the November 26, 2008 edition, Flynn talks about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Just look at this part of his last paragraph:
“But somehow seeing your own world over television instead of viewing it from your father’s shoulders doesn’t seem the same. At least not when your old enough to remember how it once was.”
I am not saying don”t go out to the parade, but I have never been to the Macy’s Parade in person. I bet it is so much fun, but I love watching it on NBC every Thanksgiving. I always look forward to it every year. But, you know what? I never look back on a parade and say, “You know, last year’s Dora balloon was exciting, but now it’s gone. I remember Dora. That was a great balloon. I say, “Wow. Last year was great! That can only mean this year is going to be better!” Now doesn’t comment number 2 sound much more exciting than comment number 1?
Back to the first sentence of this article, what was it again about change. So, is change good, bad, or in the middle? If you want my opinion, it really matters what you are talking about. If it is change for the better, sure! Sign me up! If it is change to make things more confusing, I’ll think about it. If change will be to do something stupid instead of smart, no way! So, I hope that the change the country will face on January 20, 2009 and onward will be a good change. I hope that moving Daylight Savings was a good change. So, the next time you want to change something, will it be for the good or the worse?