Letters to the Editor: Come on, getting a Real ID at the DMV isn’t that bad

To the editor: After reading Steve Lopez’s column on getting his Real ID-compliant license at the DMV, I got online to start the process. I was able to fill out the application and upload the necessary documents. I was given a confirmation number to show at check-in.

At the DMV in Fullerton, the entire process took 50 minutes, and every step went smoothly.

My two takeaways from this experience: First, plan and prepare in order to save time and reduce stress, and second, every DMV employee I came across was kind, patient and extremely helpful. Take the time and thank each worker for their service.

Rob Demonteverde, Brea

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To the editor: Women need extra proof that we are who we are.

After completing the Real ID paperwork online, I was able to schedule an appointment. But first I must wait in a line at the Los Angeles County Hall of Records so I can prove I changed my name legally 60 years ago by getting married.

Sally Cook, Camarillo

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To the editor: Real ID gives this citizen the sense that we are a country transitioning to autocracy.

Being a retired air carrier employee who has given up flying on airplanes because of security protocols and the coach cabins becoming cattle cars, I have not the slightest inclination to obtain a Real ID-compliant license.

Moreover, so-called modernity seems to be a bust. Too easily we accept the regimentation of Big Government and Big Marketing. Mass data collection and the loss of privacy make the days of yesteryear seem like a far better place.

Without carrying plastic cards, we are a nobody — not something this 86-year-old went to war for.

D.J. Ponder, Torrance