The primarying Eschaton
Okay. In 2005, which was still a very post-9/11 world, Congress passed an act that told all of the states to ask for more verification before issuing their IDs, in order to make sure that Americans were not going to blow up planes, I guess. They told everybody that they would not let Americans on planes without furnishing that additional identification. They called it “Real ID,” and they gave everyone 3 years to comply.
States responded, mostly, by doing nothing. The infrastructure wasn’t there. The systems were legacy, they said. The budgets did not exist. Some states already issued what are called extended drivers licenses, which allow people to cross into bordering nations by land, and which require more paperwork to obtain than a Real ID. No funding was provided by the federal government to establish this, and little leverage was provided other than the vague threat that millions of Americans would suddenly be unable to fly, someday, maybe. The government threatened states; states eventually started to take steps to comply. In 2014, “partial enforcement” happened at “certain government facilities.” In practice, people only want Real ID for one reason: so they can get onto an airplane. That requirement was announced in 2018 and delayed four more times.
I call the day that Real ID enforcement actually takes place the primarying Eschaton, because it is the day where the entire country will begin primarying every single elected official out of pure vengeance until morale improves. There is nothing more politically toxic than the widespread enforcement of Real ID. It is almost purpose-built to be terrible for people. Homeless people will suddenly find themselves unable to take commercial transit. The rest of us will wonder why we went through with it. It is completely unnecessary in scope, and the only real solution – a federal ID program – will never happen, either.
The primarying Eschaton has been delayed seven times since its launch, and the most recent happened the day before I wrote this text, claiming – what else? – the pandemic. The primarying Eschaton sits forever on the horizon, the ultimate vaporware of security theater, and knock on wood no planes seem to be blowing up in the meantime.