Have we Americans become so parched for our sugar fix that we now need to get our “alcohol on” in supermarkets and on street corners?  That appears to be the case in Pennsylvania where they are now selling you wine from vending machines.

The state of Pennsylvania has introduced America’s first ever wine vending machine as part of a supermarket trial.

Customers just have to swipe their driver’s licence, look into the camera and blow into a breathalyser attached to the machine to purchase bottles of wine…. The whole process takes around 20 seconds and a convenience fee of $1 could be added after the trial period.

A state employee in Harrisburg remotely approves the sale after verifying the buyer matches the photo ID.  The whole process takes around 20 seconds and a convenience fee of $1 could be added after the trial period.

As a nation, will we ever again be about accountability and not convenience?  Our sloth infantilizes us and makes us unstable.

Why must we pamper every step of our lives?  In the exchange from autonomous to automatic, we relinquish who we are, and where we came from, as our pioneer spirit is usurped by machines and mechanical idolatry.

What’s next?  A nurse in a box; a flu shot in ballpoint pen; or a kick in the arse with a mechanized boot?

Where is the self control?  Where else can — “hurry up and slow down” — take us except directly to the madhouse?

We have become lazy and inert and our fanciful bubble is about to burst in our face like an overblown piece of bubblegum, and we’ll be wiping away the embarrassing public reside for generations to come.

5 Comments

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  2. Strange — I thought Japan had beer and wine vending machines years ago and they seem to be doing okay — but then again they also have used panty vending machines so perhaps they’re not the best role models!

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Yes, you’re right Japan and Europe have these wine vending machines — but they aren’t Panopticonically monitored like we do it in Pennsylvania with ID and breathalyzers and such. So silly! Do it right or just don’t do it.

        1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
          David W. Boles says:

          I want out of the Nanny State, Gordon! Where can I seek asylum?

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