WE HAVE CREATED A MONSTER...

... and it is us.  Amidst all the breast-beating and sententious editorializing, it seems to go unnoticed that we sacrificed our privacy long ago--and not only, nor even primarily to the government.  In the recent past, I filed an application to re-finance the mortgage on our Los Angeles house.  Immediately, I began to receive a flood of emails (and USPS letters) from mortgage companies from whom I had never heard before, seeking to entice me with their offers.  Coincidence?   I think not.  Mysteriously, the private information about my loan application seemed to have become common knowledge shared by every bank and finance company in the world.

Along with most other people, I think, I do not like the loss of my privacy.  Had I foreseen the consequences of Internet activity on my computer, I might have chosen to eschew all its other delights and conveniences.  It seems, however, that I have surrendered every aspect of my life to the scrutiny and exploitation of the corporate world.  Big Brother is not just the government, but more pervasively--and to my mind more perniciously--the invisible global network of profiteering corporations.  Sadly, now, we must look back and accept the fact that the deed is done.  Impossible, at this moment in our history, to turn back the clock.  As is so often the case, we humans were seduced by the mysterious and alluring contents of a Pandora's box, and did not think twice before opening it.

Oh, and please, if you happen to be a re-fi agent reading this, I have already settled on a deal.