Time to stop respecting political authority

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 5, 2025)

If you're concerned about America's direction, there's a way to think about it that helps. It's also true.

America is the people, the natural wonders and resources, and the spirit of innovation. America is liberty.

The US federal government is the enemy of all those things and not something you should look to for guidance, protection, or answers. The regional and local governments are not on America's side, either. Being loyal to government is misguided. Or worse.

When the CIA spies on Americans it is showing its loyalty to itself, not to America. It has methods to disrupt other countries; do you believe it won't use these methods in America to make things go its way? Of course it will, regardless of legality.

When the FBI is caught pressuring desperate losers to commit crimes so it can congratulate itself for thwarting another plot, do you think this was an unusual case? Or have you realized the FBI is not looking out for America, either?

Presidents and members of Congress might pretend to listen to you, but even if they were sincere, there are millions of people with opposing values and goals. Don't count on politicians to do the right thing, if they even understand what's right.

The Supreme Court is just as bad. They may follow the Constitution as long as it doesn't inconvenience government too much. Or as long as it doesn't go against their personal preferences.

It would be great if it were safe to ignore all these anti-American institutions, but they've made sure it isn't. You have to watch out for the next threat they'll throw your way.

No one can fix them-- they are already working exactly as designed. You can try to hold them accountable in individual cases, but it's like chasing down a single fly in a feedlot. You might succeed, but it will make no difference. It's too safe for them to keep being the bad guys, and there's safety in the illusion of numbers.

There's nothing they can do to us if enough of us stop complying. They are a drop in the bucket, in terms of real numbers. It's the superstitious belief in political authority that props them up.

The best way to respect America is to stop respecting those who fight against everything that makes America good. America will be fine, as long as you don't give the political criminals too much power over it.

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The arguments for DST

I follow an account on X that advocates for deleting "Daylight Saving Time". This has resulted in debates with DST advocates, which has taught me some things about their view of the world.

Primarily, and at the foundation, nearly all supporters of DST believe anyone who prefers standard time is a "lazy bum who wants to sleep all day". This is where every discussion eventually ends up. It's their gotcha.

Beyond that--

I've come to discover how few of them realize the sun sets later (and rises earlier) in the summer, giving more hours of daylight no matter what you do with the clocks. I thought everyone knew this. Apparently not.

They'll argue that "everyone prefers DST", but when I suggest that if this is the case, businesses will simply choose to open and close an hour earlier in summer to make people happy (like they are already doing under DST, while pretending this isn't what they are doing), I'm told this wouldn't work because there are too many "lazy bums who want to sleep all day".

They'll claim they don't care which clock setting is chosen, as long as the clock changing stops. But, when I say, "OK, then we can just stay on standard time", they have a meltdown, saying that's not what they meant. Then it goes back to accommodating "lazy bums". 

If pressed at this point, they'll even say we need to keep the twice-a-year "time change" to avoid staying with permanent standard time.

There's more--

They've told me there's no such thing as circadian rhythms. 

I've been told it doesn't matter where the hands of the clock point (as long as the clock is on DST) so I shouldn't care-- while they express how deeply they care that I be forced to adopt their clock setting.

They've told me that time zones are arbitrary (which suggests they've never traveled very far east or west); apparently unaware they are based on when the sun is at its zenith in a general region.
If we're going to ignore noon anyway, let's just adopt the One World Clock (UTC), and go with that (which I oppose as much as I oppose DST). But they don't like that, either.

They've told me that permanent standard time would disrupt international business and put America out of sync with the rest of the world. I don't even know how to respond to that weapons-grade lack of awareness.

They've told me that people who want permanent standard time don't love their kids (or don't have kids) and don't want their kids to have the "extra" daylight.

But, mostly, I'm told-- time after time-- that if I don't embrace DST it's only because I am a lazy bum who wants to sleep all day. And that, to them, ends the discussion.

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