Decades ago, Oklahomans all had to get their car tags renewed in the same month. It was a disaster, with long lines around the block and angry patrons who waited hours for a simple payment that should take about five minutes.

That got fixed. Now the Department of Public Safety is dealing with a bigger mess than that.

Thanks to federal government’s overreach and imposition of the Real ID Act, Oklahoma drivers can’t just walk into a tag agency and renew their drivers’ license.

You have to make an appointment. And it will take weeks to get that appointment.

The U.S. Government is going to require a complicit Oklahoma Real ID driver’s license for Oklahomans to ride on a commercial airplane, enter a federal building, enter a military base and other restricted areas. The only alternative to a Real ID driver’s license is a valid U.S. Passport – which also takes weeks thanks to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. And it is expensive.

In Oklahoma, you can get a Real ID compliant drivers’ license or a non-compliant license. If you get a non-compliant license, you will have to produce a valid passport to fly anywhere.

This is “Big Brother” at its worst in several levels.

First, Real ID is an attempt to keep track of every citizen in the United States. It is another step toward cataloguing the DNA of all Americans.

Secondly, this has taken what was a simple renewal process and made it 10 times more bureaucratic.

It’s no wonder that conservatives in the Oklahoma Legislature fought this federal overreach for years.

One result is that a lot of people are going to be driving around with expired licenses, which will lead to fines and for some, court dates.

This is a lousy situation.