Only residents of Arizona (with the exception of those living on the land reserved for the Navajo Nation, which is compelled to follow Washington’s timekeeping edicts), Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other outlying U.S. territories did not have their body clocks jolted by time suddenly “springing forward” one hour.

Public opinion has been slowly turning against the twice-yearly ritual of moving the clock hands forward and backward. The main question nowadays is, what is to be done, policy-wise?

Most people don’t realize that standard time, as its name implies, was the year-round custom in the United States (and most of the world) until 1918, when — during World War I — the practice of springing forward was introduced as an alleged energy-saving measure. That ended shortly after the war but was temporarily reinstated during World War II and then codified as an annual ritual when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

The false belief in DST-related energy savings has led some state and federal lawmakers to propose making DST permanent. That would be a serious blunder, experience shows.

More than five decades ago, on January 6, 1974, Washington launched what was meant to be a two-year-long experiment with permanent DST. While the change initially was favored by 79% of the public, it quickly lost favor after predawn accidents killed or injured several schoolchildren.

Many started calling it daylight disaster time, permanent DST’s popularity tumbled to 42%, and the experiment ended for good in October 1974, after just 10 months.

Fans of permanent DST are relentless, however. The latest effort is called the Sunshine Protection Act, introduced last year by Florida Republicans Vern Buchanan in the House and Rick Scott in the Senate. Political memories are short: It was Florida schoolchildren who became DST’s casualties in 1974.

The reason clock settings are a hotly debated political issue is that the Uniform Time Act allows states and U.S. territories to lock in standard time for 12 months, but it doesn’t allow them to adopt DST permanently. For that to happen, the 1966 statute would have to be amended or repealed.

A “compromise” introduced by Rep. Greg Steube, also of Florida, would “split the baby” by setting clocks ahead by 30 minutes for good. Although plausibly less troublesome, “half-DST” would put U.S. time zones out of sync with the rest of the world. And it would still misalign our human body clocks with morning sunlight, thereby disrupting circadian rhythms and causing the spikes in heart attacks, strokes, depression and other health problems observed in the days following the one-hour spring and fall time shifts.

Changing clocks twice every year is disruptive and costly. On-the-job productivity sinks until employees adjust physiologically to springing forward and falling back. Retailers are major supporters of DST because they think that sales rise when more people can shop after work. The owners of golf courses, tennis courts and other outdoor sports venues likewise plausibly benefit from DST.

During a radio interview several years ago, I was amused by the host’s remark that he likes DST because losing an hour of sleep in March signals that winter is ending and spring is on the way. Guess what? Except at the equator, days lengthen and shorten over the calendar year, no matter where the hands of clocks are pointing.

Stop the stupid ritual. Standard time now runs for just four months (early November through early March). It’s time to make it the year-round nationwide standard again.

William F. Shughart II is a distinguished research adviser and senior fellow of the Independent Institute and is J. Fish Smith Professor in Public Choice at Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Evaluating DST is more complex than it might initially seem. Many focus on issues related to the clock changes and do not examine the significant benefits they provide throughout the months after each change. Modifications to our current system would cause fewer benefits to spring and fall, more problems in winter, or both.

One proposed alternative is Year-Round Standard Time. This would cut short 240 beautiful, long spring, summer and autumn evenings and would eliminate eight months of DST’s benefits. Numerous studies show that having spring-to-fall DST increases public health and the quality of life by getting people outdoors more, reduces crimes like mugging, reduces energy usage and peaks, and over the 240-day period, reduces traffic accidents and fatalities significantly.

Year-Round Standard Time would make many spring and summer sunrises extremely early, while most people are sleeping: New York and Chicago sunrises before 4:30 a.m., Los Angeles and Washington sunrises before 5 a.m. We would sleep through morning sunshine for many months, while that daylight could have been better utilized later in the day. Our current DST system relocates an hour of otherwise wasted early morning sunshine to a much more useful hour at day’s end.

Under federal law, each state can choose Year-Round Standard Time without federal approval. Only two states do so, and for unique reasons: Hawaii, the closest state to the equator, has daylight hours that vary little over the year, making DST’s benefits much smaller. Arizona’s most populous areas have extreme summer heat, and so instead of additional summer daylight, Arizonans await sunset to go outdoors.

Another major alternative to the current DST system is Year-Round Daylight Time. This isn’t a new idea; Americans have tried this option and firmly rejected it.

During a 1974 national energy crisis, the federal government installed nationwide Year-Round DST for two years. But winter DST quickly lost support. People didn’t like traveling to work in the dark on winter mornings. They especially disliked sending their children to school on dark mornings, waiting for buses on dark rural roads, or walking dark city streets. Congress followed national sentiment and eliminated Year-Round DST after one year, although the law would have automatically expired the following year.

Already-late winter sunrises are one hour later under Year-Round Daylight Time — the sun would rise in New York and Denver about 8:30 a.m., in Indianapolis and Seattle about 9 a.m., and in some U.S. areas at 9:30 a.m. or later.

Moving the clock forward one hour is like traveling one time zone to the east (Chicago to New York, London to Paris, Beijing to Tokyo), which multitudes do worldwide daily. And numerous travelers cross multiple time zones.

Regarding claimed health effects, a 2024 Mayo Clinic study of 36 million adults over five years found no significant link between DST and heart attack or stroke. Assessing DST, “there is no need to take concerns regarding heart health into account.”

Rather than changing our time system, other alternatives exist to minimize the negative effects of clock changes. One option: Several days before each DST clock change, a campaign of public service announcements could remind people that a clock change is coming and advise getting more sleep and going to sleep somewhat earlier in the days leading up to the clock change, just as travelers do when confronting a time zone change.

The current very sensible and beneficial DST system brings great advantages throughout the year, eliminates the problems caused by other systems, and results in the best time system for both spring-to-fall and winter.

David Prerau, a Massachusetts computer scientist, has been called “The Foremost Authority on DST.” He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Central Florida is chronically ill in part because people aren’t getting the nutrition they need to be healthy. When you don’t have stable access to food, you’re at a much higher risk of developing diseases like hypertension (impacting 1 in 3 Floridians), diabetes (impacting 1 in 10 Floridians), and heart disease (impacting 1.4 million Floridians, and the leading cause of death in the state).

Getting healthy meals on the tables of food-insecure neighbors is one of the best and most cost-effective tools we can leverage to improve public health. And at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, we’ve already started putting it into practice. In fact, 73% of the 82 million meals distributed last year were fresh, nutritious foods.

In addition to food distribution, Second Harvest is working alongside partners in the health care industry, to proactively screen patients for food insecurity and connect at-risk households to healthy food, sometimes even before they leave the doctor’s office. In just a few years, those systemic changes have benefited more than 240,000 individuals.

A balanced diet can lower blood pressure, improve heart health, and help prevent or manage chronic conditions like diabetes. For high-need patients and homebound seniors, Second Harvest offers options like Medically Tailored Meals (MTM), which are designed by a registered dietician nutritionist to meet specific nutrition needs and prevent repeat hospital visits. When patients discharged at Central Florida hospitals were enrolled in the MTM program, their likelihood of readmission fell from 43% to just 8.2%.

Even for lower-risk patients, a small intervention can pay significant dividends. Some of the families supported by Second Harvest have limited transportation or a language barrier that can make it hard to access health care, but providing food and a bus pass makes it much more likely that they’ll return for follow-up appointments — a major concern in some rural areas, where no-show rates can be as high as 70%.

Beyond the doctor’s office, Second Harvest is also bringing nutrition education to the wider community. Patients who have limited access to healthy food may not know what to look for on a nutrition label, or how to prepare recipes to minimize sodium or cholesterol — but they can learn those skills through free nutrition education classes.

Tackling health and hunger at the same time yields cascading benefits, including many that don’t show up on a lab report. It means fewer emergency room visits for easily avoidable health conditions, leaving more beds free for patients with other critical care needs. It lowers the risk of health complications. It saves money — $2,600 per hospital stay, on average. And it reduces the strain on family caregivers who otherwise couldn’t afford to care for someone with serious medical needs.

Food is foundational to health, and having access to a balanced, nourishing diet can be life-changing. “My blood pressure and heart rate are better,” said a Central Florida senior who was referred to Second Harvest’s Medically Tailored Meals program. “I was able to get off my diabetes medication, I lost some pounds — medically, this saved me probably thousands of dollars.”

The bottom line is simple: Fighting hunger is feeding health. And thanks to a community of partners, volunteers, donors and neighbors, we’re well on our way to a healthier Central Florida.

To learn how you can get involved, visit FeedHopeNow.org.

Dawn Koffarnus is the Chief Health Systems and Financial Officer at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Evaluating this requires examining abuses, military aggression, humanitarian violations, sanctions, and judgments by bodies like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. By these standards, Israel’s recent record warrants serious scrutiny.

Israel has long been accused of violating humanitarian law and defying numerous United Nations resolutions. Its occupation of the West Bank has entrenched a system of dispossession and daily violence, as Palestinians are killed, arrested and displaced while Israeli settlers, protected by the Israel Defense Forces and supported by the United States, expand into Palestinian land. Settlement growth is official state policy, championed by leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister; Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister; and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security, whose government empowers extremist settlers, escalates violence and undermines any viable path to Palestinian autonomy.

About 3.3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, while settlers have increased from 400,000 in 2005 to over 700,000 today, intensifying land encroachment under military occupation. Last month, Israel expanded annexation efforts and and put limits on the Palestinian Authority, further strengthening Israeli control.

Since 2007, the blockade of the Gaza Strip has deepened Israel’s international isolation. By controlling Gaza’s land, air and sea access, Israel has crippled its economy and infrastructure. Despite a so-called ceasefire, there have been restrictions on humanitarian aid, with only 260 of the 600 daily needed trucks entering Gaza. Israel now controls 53% of Gaza, likely for future settlement and economic interests involving the United States, while hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire.”

After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, Israel’s assault on Gaza drew global condemnation, with over 73,000 Palestinians killed and nearly 185,000 wounded. The Lancet, a respected medical journal, estimates deaths may approach 200,000, leading many to question claims of proportional self-defense.

International backlash has intensified, with the United Nations General Assembly condemning Israel’s campaign and aid blockade, and groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and Save the Children alleging serious legal violations. Israeli organizations such as B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have gone further, accusing the government of genocide.

Even Israel’s closest allies are losing patience. Twenty-eight Western-aligned nations that initially backed Israel after Oct. 7 now demand an end to its offensive and condemn its aid restrictions, warning that Israel is manufacturing famine conditions. This shift marks a significant erosion of Israel’s diplomatic support.

And now the Israeli and United States attacks on Iran, launched amid diplomatic negotiations and without authorization from the Security Council, violate the fundamental prohibition on the use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity and the duty to peacefully settle disputes under Article 2 of the U.N. Charter. Ben Saul, U.N. Special Rapporteur, recently said that the strikes “…threaten the human right to life.”

Israel faces unprecedented legal scrutiny. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yoav Gallant, former minister of Defense, while the International Court of Justice is examining possible genocide in the Gaza Strip. No other U.S.-backed state has faced such severe action.

Israel’s diplomatic isolation is growing, with few allies across the Middle East, North Africa and much of the global south. Cultural and academic boycotts are expanding, and countries such as Spain, Italy, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have imposed arms embargoes or trade restrictions, signs of a state moving toward pariah status.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, modeled on campaigns against apartheid in South Africa, is growing, as more scholars and institutions label Israel’s system as apartheid, signaling a major shift in global perception and pariah status.

Despite mounting evidence and outrage, Israel still benefits from U.S. protection, with Donald Trump among Benjamin Netanyahu’s few firm allies. However, divisions are emerging within the United States, including among some conservatives.

Former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren warns, “We’re not a pariah state yet, but we could be.” Yet for many observers, given Israel’s accelerating defiance of international norms and the world’s growing willingness to say so, the threshold may already have been crossed.

Ken Barnes of Miami is a retired physician, social justice activist and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace.

The recent ban on H-1B applications for potential public university employment will contribute to a brain drain from Florida’s universities (“Florida could ban foreign H-1B visa faculty at state universities until 2027,” Jan. 26). It will steer extraordinary candidates to other states, to private companies and to nonprofit institutions of higher education. It will immediately affect research programs that depend upon new and recent technology research. Even if it only lasts one year, and that end date is suspect, it may establish a trend from which Florida may not be able to recover any time soon. Our college students will not have the opportunity to be taught by the best and brightest in some very important and sophisticated fields. Even if the ban only lasts one year, many of the brightest students will continue to steer clear of Florida because they cannot trust their future to such uncertainty.

— Scot A. Silzer, Orlando

War’s goal is oil

As we all watch this war quickly escalate each and every day, and possibly to the point of us putting boots on the ground for our soldiers to go into harm’s way, I find it incredible that the Trump administration still cannot articulate a valid reason as to why we are there. So I’ll go ahead and take a stab at it.

The goal: To eliminate a radical regime, while also simultaneously allowing our opportunistic president to selectively replace that regime with a hand-selected leader, ensuring the Trump family and friends have perpetual control rights to all those oil reserves for years to come.

Somebody please share this fact with Secretary of State Marco Rubio so he stops looking like a fool on national TV citing odd and bizarre defenses, trying to insulate his boss from the reality.

— Dennis Warren, Longwood

Is new Iran leader on Fox?

I read that Trump wants input on who should be Iran’s next leader. It’s hard to believe that there aren’t any Fox News hosts or Trump relatives who still need a job.

— Jim James, Winter Garden

This is our ‘golden age’?

Trump supporters: Are you enjoying the “golden age” you were promised? Is this what it looks like — rising gas prices tied to a new war; grocery bills that keep climbing, not just eggs; and allies who now question whether the United States can be trusted?

Americans were told prosperity and strength were just around the corner. Instead, many are facing layoffs, growing economic uncertainty, housing insecurity, and a job market where opportunity feels harder to find. Meanwhile, the country’s global reputation — once a cornerstone of American influence — has become a punchline in many parts of the world.

If this is the “golden age,” it’s fair to ask: for whom?

— Katie Sanchez, Orlando

American workers aren’t valued

Are American workers valued? I say no.

For years I wrote letters about exceptional employees. Twenty years ago, I sent a personalized plaque along with a letter of appreciation to a CEO. I was surprised and overwhelmed by their gratefulness. I sent more plaques; all well-received until now. I sent two recently, with no response from either CEO. This disrespect shows me these employees aren’t valued.

Am I odd to love and value people? I believe people fundamentally have value, encapsulated in their work ethic, ability and potential. I recognize their intrinsic value to a company and know without their diligence and dedication, the organization will never reach its full potential. We’re all dependent on those early openers, late-night stockers, and front-desk faces who turn the cogs for the good of the company and those it serves. I choose to honor the best efforts of those who prevail every day against all odds in a challenging environment while perhaps feeling unappreciated.

— Bob Cope, Winter Park

ICE masks vs. COVID masks

Wouldn’t it be pretty ironic if some (or most) of the current ICE agents who insist that they must wear masks for their protection were the same MAGA supporters who were adamant during COVID that masks provided no protection?

— Gerald S. Sutton, Winter Park

You can submit a letter to the editor by sending it by email to insight@orlandosentinel.com or by filling out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 250 words and must be signed (no pseudonyms nor initials).You must include your email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. 

“Donald Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon,” a U.S. military commander told combat troops.

“Jesus made me do it” is quite the war whoop, and it didn’t stop there. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported 200 calls from 50 military installations where they were preaching the same pre-attack gospel. The Iran don’t-call-it-a-war is all part of God’s divine plan to trigger Armageddon, military leaders were saying, necessary for the imminent return of Jesus.

Silly. Everyone knows the Big Fella’s not cooling His heels in Iran. He’s in Minneapolis. Look for the nice guy handing out whistles.

America’s military brass didn’t just get their celestial geography wrong. They got the wrong century. We’re not in the middle of Armageddon. We’re in the middle of Vietnam.

Easy mistake for Pete Hegseth. He was born in the 1980s, the greediest, graspiest, most self-involved decade of the modern 20th Century. So, he missed ‘Nam. The lies about why we were there. The lies about how long we would have to stay. Our B-52 bombers losing against their tunnels. Our napalm losing against their punji sticks. Yes: They fought us with sharp sticks. And they won. Think about that the next time Hegseth takes time from dodging reports of day drinking to rotor his arms and chest-puff about our sophisticated bombers.

No one knows where those bombs ultimately fall; certainly not Trump, who ducked his generation’s war with five draft deferments. Avoiding venereal disease was “my personal Vietnam,” Captain Bonespurs explained.

I’m sure it was.

We bombed ‘Nam so intensely that it helped give rise to another insurgent group, the Khmer Rouge. And the Khmer Rouge gave rise to Cambodian genocide and 1.5 million bodies in 23,000 mass graves. Free from fighting with America, Vietnam toppled the Khmer Rouge. So that’s where the American bombs eventually fell. See how it works? Me neither. And neither does the Clown Car Brigade putting on war paint and red noses as they order someone (else) to go spill blood.

It takes a whole lot to make Richard Nixon look reasonable, given Tricky Dick’s late-night rage-wailing at portraits of other presidents. But our Don John has a whole lotta lot and he is busy unloading it. In Venezuela. In Somalia. In Syria. In Yemen. In Ecuador. At an elementary school. No mass grave there. Just 168 small ones.

“That’s the way it is,” said Trump of the first dead U.S. soldiers. Very pious. Very interesting to actually see the better angels of a person’s nature roll over and take a nap.

One thing we have never appreciated about either Vietnam or Iran is just how old these countries are, and what that means when the bombs stop and a new regime emerges. Vietnam is at least 3,000 years old, and Iran is even older. They may acknowledge that we are an up-and-coming 250-year-old kid on the block, but their culture is not ours. Their ideas about freedom are not necessarily ours. Their version of effective governing is not likely to be ours.

Never mind.

We will bomb them into peace, said Trump.

War is peace and peace is war, said the uber-fascists in George Orwell’s “1984.”

Blessed are the peacemakers, said The Guy With All The Whistles, wondering in retrospect whether the Bible should have come with explanatory dictionaries. With pictures, to make sure the guys with all the bombs got the message.

“Death and destruction from the sky all day long,” chortled Hegseth, who clearly didn’t get the message, despite his performative protestations of his own Christianity.

When a country is led by people who wear the cross but who have lost the plot, the end times really are at hand. Theirs, not ours: Vietnam weakened an already corrupt president, and we all know how that eventually ended.

With answered prayers.

Pat Beall is a Sun Sentinel columnist and editorial writer. 

Across Florida and the nation, health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly forcing one-size-fits-all protocols in cancer care — delaying or denying access to treatment and dictating choices based on their financial bottom line, not patient clinical need. These policies like prior authorizations, step therapy and therapeutic substitution, which might make sense for routine ailments, but in cancer care, they cross a dangerous line.

In oncology, timing is everything. Every week in my clinic, I see what happens when those delays hit real patients. The most common examples involve crucial drugs for treating blood cancers like chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), lymphoma, and myeloma. Insurers often push older or different formulations instead of newer subcutaneous ones or require patients to start with a generic version first, even when it makes no clinical difference.

I’ve had patients sitting in a chair and ready to begin, when we get the call that the medication we planned to use that day — the same therapy they’ve already been receiving, just delivered in a different formulation — isn’t approved. The result is a treatment postponed for a few weeks. The patient loses a critical chair-time slot. Nurses and pharmacists scramble to rewrite orders. And worst of all, the patient’s confidence in the system and in their fight takes a hit.

For patients already living with fear and uncertainty, these interruptions can be devastating. Many patients are in their 70s or 80s and depend on family members for rides and support. When care is delayed, it’s not just a scheduling problem; it’s a psychological blow. The stress of waiting and wondering if treatment will move forward takes a real toll.

These insurance tactics also have clinical consequences. Forcing patients through administrative hoops, or requiring them to first “fail” on a different treatment or prove they can’t tolerate it before gaining approval for the therapy their doctor prescribed, creates unnecessary barriers. Each day lost risks robbing patients of the best window for the best care.

The burden doesn’t stop with patients. Each denial means nurses, financial counselors, and physicians must spend hours filing appeals — often through automated phone systems and layers of approvals — only to reach representatives bound by “approval guidelines.” Many of these cases come with arbitrary 48-hour deadlines before they’re closed. That’s time that could be spent on research, patient education, or simply being present for those in need.

It’s demoralizing to know the final word in a cancer treatment plan can come from a profit-driven decision made in an insurer’s office instead of a doctor. Medical practicioners should bring hope and stand with patients through their most vulnerable moments. Yet too often, it feels as though we’re forced to battle insurers instead of disease.

Here in Florida, where many retirees come to live out their years in peace, these barriers are hitting especially hard. Medicare Advantage plans often impose the strictest limits, leaving patients and providers caught in an exhausting cycle of denials and appeals. As open enrollment begins, Floridians should understand these rules aren’t just red tape. They determine how quickly patients get care, and whether that care is guided by a doctor’s judgment or an insurer’s approval.

Fixing these problems will take more than frustration, it will take reform. Restoring trust in cancer care means fixing a system that too often puts profits ahead of patients. While Congress recently took an important step by enacting PBM reform, that alone will not fix the systemic delays and denials facing cancer patients today. Policymakers should build on this progress by strengthening transparency and accountability, increasing oversight of step therapy and prior authorizations, and ensuring clinical decisions remain in the exam room.

These changes would help rebuild a system that improves outcomes, protects medical judgment, and puts patients and doctors back in charge of cancer care.

Dr. Alex Mejia Garcia is a board-certified hematologist serving patients with cancer across Florida.

Over the next week, that will change. Thursday, the city revealed renderings of what the permanent memorial could look like — a design they sfay is 30% complete. Next week, the city will take down the sign that still marks the site. By the end of the month, the building will be gone.

By September 2027, the city hopes to have the memorial complete — something Central Florida residents visit to reflect on the tragedy that, in many ways, changed this city for the better. In the years since the Pulse tragedy, Orlando has become a city that refuses to buy into the politics of hate. The final design of the memorial should certainly reflect that.⁴

The fact that it’s taken so long is almost a second tragedy, says Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan. That’s hard to dispute. In the aftermath of the Pulse shootings, donations poured in from across the nation. Some of that money went where it was intended, as compensation for the families and victims. But the rest of the money was designated toward the construction of a memorial. The onePulse Foundation, which was in charge, produced grandiose plans — and then collapsed. Last year, the city took over the project, spending $3 million to acquire the nightclub property and an adjacent lot, and funding the design and construction of the memorial. Orange County has agreed to contribute $5 million.

The first glimpse

The designs unveiled on Thursday have given Orlando residents a glimpse of how the memorial will be laid out — though the design is only 30% complete. The plan includes a striking arc of pillars around a reflecting pond, with each pillar holding the names of the people who died — Orlando’s “49 angels.” There will be a a visitor’s center that will tell the story from the beginning, starting with a seemingly ordinary evening in the LGBTQ-friendly club, which was hosting Latin night. What happened next will be difficult to capture in a way that doesn’t sensationalize the details of the attack. But early plans, unveiled Thursday, suggest that city leaders and the firm leading the design are headed in the right direction. While some of the artifacts that have already been salvaged from the building might be incorporated into the design. it seems clear that the city is committed to offering a memorial that treats Pulse victims with respect, though it will be impossible to make everyone happy.

Some advocated for keeping the original building intact, but not open to the public. Few people want to see visitors walking across the floors where so many people died.

Still, there will be something intangible lost when the sign and building are deconstructed. Last year, families and survivors (and media) went inside the nightclub for the first time since 2016.

Seeing the wall police breached to give people inside the club a chance to get out, or the bathrooms and dressing rooms where people hid, prayed for survival or reached out to family and friends carries an impact that spells out this nation’s terrifying vulnerability to gun violence.

A needed change

For those who grew accustomed to seeing the Pulse site, this will mark a change. The area where people used to leave trinkets and memorials is already shielded from view by a solid wall of purple tarp that keeps anyone from seeing inside — but there are still a few memorial items, including flags, outside. And the sign, with its one word in stark white against a black background, is still visible and should be until Monday night.

As Orlando looks to the future, we can only hope that the city continues to be inspired by the surge of loving resolve that welled up after the Pulse tragedy. We have no doubt that city leaders would give anything in their power to undo the events of that night and restore the 49 lives that were so tragically cut short, heal the bodies of the people who were severely injured and erase the trauma suffered by the people at the club, along with the first responders and hospital staff who fought to save them.

That is not within their power. But city leaders can, to the best of their abilities, ensure that those lives are remembered. And Orlando residents can recommit themselves to the spirit of unity that encompassed their grief and pushed them to strive for something better.

In another 10 years, nobody will care about the controversy that surrounded the creation of this memorial. Instead, they will see how a community was united by deaths of 49 people who only wanted to come together, celebrate their shared identity and dance.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.

Substance Use Disorders — the clinical term — are rarely, if ever, isolated concerns. People seeking support often present with overlapping challenges such as anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma histories, chronic stress or relationship difficulties. Effective care requires more than good intentions; it requires training, supervision, consultation and ongoing curiosity about culture, context, systemic barriers and the social determinants of health. This approach mirrors general health care, where clinicians rely on evidence, protocols and ongoing learning to improve outcomes and ensure consistent quality of care.

In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), my primary modality, we begin with a simple but essential truth: behavior makes sense in context. People do not repeatedly engage in behaviors that serve no purpose. They repeat behaviors because, at some point, those behaviors worked — they solved a problem or helped them cope with a difficult reality.

What is often labeled as “addiction” is better understood as learned behavior: actions that reduce pain, quiet anxiety, numb trauma or provide relief from relentless intrusive thoughts and the obsessions that follow. If these behaviors did not offer something meaningful, people would not continue them.

This perspective is not radical. It is foundational to many evidence-based psychotherapies. In “Unbroken Brain,” Maia Szalavitz reframes problematic substance use as a learning and developmental issue rather than a moral failing. In “Beyond Addiction,” authors Jeffrey Foote, Carrie Wilkens and Nicole Kosanke — peers in evidence-based treatment — emphasize the importance of compassion, love and kindness, behavioral principles and practical strategies for change grounded in science rather than shame. Their work highlights that substance use is often a response to unaddressed mental health challenges, trauma, and unmet needs.

So why do abstinence-only models remain so prominent? In part, history. Long before psychotherapy, trauma science, or neuroscience were understood, substance use was framed in moral terms: clean or relapsed, success or failure. Binary thinking is simple, emotionally compelling, and often comforting, providing a sense of structure in a world of complexity.

Abstinence works well for some people — particularly those who find structure, identity, or community in abstinence-focused programs. Though it should be noted that these programs do not directly address co-occurring mental health issues and could unintentionally reinforce unhelpful behaviors. The problem arises when what works for some is treated as the only acceptable path for everyone.

From a harm-reduction and cognitive-behavioral perspective, stopping a behavior alone is rarely sufficient. Co-occurring mental health concerns often drive substance use, and social determinants such as housing stability, employment, access to care, and systemic inequities strongly shape outcomes. What is commonly called “relapse” — what evidence-based clinicians understand as a return to earlier learning — is expected and human. It is part of the process of experimentation, practice, and skill-building.

Ethical, evidence-based care begins with curiosity: What problem did this behavior solve? How did it help someone manage their reality? What skills, supports or alternatives were unavailable? How can someone build a meaningful life while tolerating discomfort within personal and systemic realities?

Abstinence can be one form of new learning — a valid and meaningful outcome for many. But it should not be treated as the default starting point, nor the only legitimate destination.

At its core, this conversation is not about labels or programs. It is about compassion, evidence, and supporting people in building fuller, freer lives — in Orlando, across Florida, and hopefully one day throughout the country.

Gwilym Roddick is the founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of Central and South Florida and the founding president of The CBT Alliance of Florida.

• Attention USPS in Palm Bay: Your substitute carrier left my stuffed roadside mailbox standing wide open next to a high school bus stop.  My front porch is 10 steps away. I very nearly had three exposed packages, four magazines and three private financial letters stolen by anyone driving or walking by, or blown away on a windy day.

• I know one thing that both political parties would agree on. Get rid of daylight saving time.

• I am annoyed that I receive multiple unsolicited email advertisements every day and I must manually unsubscribe or try to report as spam. What a waste of time. Why are unsolicited email advertisements even allowed?

• People, please learn how to pronounce Iran. It’s “Ir-ron,” not “I-ran.”

The flip side

• Who says filing your taxes is a bad experience? Not me! On Monday, I met with a volunteer staff of qualified tax preparers at the West Oaks library. This wonderful service was provided by volunteers of AARP. As a client, I was treated with respect and patience. Their knowledge of current tax law was excellent. The taxes were prepared and filed before I left. Thank you, AARP, for providing this great service free to your neighbors.

NEED TO VENT?: I’m Ticked Off! Are you? Write to tickedoff@orlandosentinel.com or flipside@orlandosentinel.com.