Are we talking about the old Hollies song, or the group Big Brother and the Holding Company? Part of the title is but………no; “VERY COLD.”

Are we talking about the “Big Brothers,” an organization that promotes mentoring to boys? No, and as a Big Brother, I have to say; mentoring??? Try hanging on for dear life, especially after your 14-year-old “Little Brother” secretly gets a hold of a large bottle of Mountain Dew, and downs it! No, “STILL COLD.”

As Wikipedia says; are we talking about Big Brother the fictional character in George Orwell‘s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four who is the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence – where the ruling Party wields total power for its own sake over the inhabitants? “GETTING WARMER,” but not in the context you think. In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you”, which is the core “truth” of the propaganda system in this state. “Getting HOT!” Oh wow……taking off the shirt!

Here’s a hint; are we talking about the millions of people who can’t wait to hand over every bit of their personal, and financial information immediately to anyone who asks for it at any time, and then completely flip out when a computer program ask them how are they doing? “Oooccchhh! HOT, HOT I’m burning up!!

Let’s go back to our old childhood game for a bit; feel free to use my handy game chart above. Are we talking the gross violations of personal freedom, complements of the “United States Spy Code” better known as the Patriot Act? No, “Stone Cold.” Are we talking about the phone companies (except for Qwest), who violated the law by secretly recording our conversations only to claim they were “just trying to help?” No, “COOLER.” Sadly, in the eyes of so many, these reasons don’t even register on the cold/hot scale, so let’s turn up the heat, and go right to the reason “some” people are so indignant at the electronic moment. Yes, it’s FACEBOOK!  “DING, DING, DING; RED SMOKING HOT!!! We have a winner!

 This is Facebook in a nutshell; the good, the bad, and the ugly. “The Good;” beautiful pictures from the garden, a seal seen swimming on your local hike, and a snow-covered forest to ski through. There is information on a charity walk, and it helps promote my blog announcements ”The Bad;” a vase knocked over by your dog followed by 200 of your “friends” writing LOL!  The 20 pictures of some kid’s first cookie. Don’t forget  the false story forwarded 27 million times of a 7-year-old bullied so much, that he barricaded himself in the principal’s office demanding that the school lunch program bring back cream corn. The “Ugly;” pictures as evidence of a toilet seat left up, passed out drunks at a party, and the time, and date of people leaving their house for vacation, only to be shocked, and horrified to find out  that they were robbed while they were gone.

That’s when it hit me. I know these people who post every detail of their lives on Facebook; the growth on their ankle, what time they went to bed, the unknown stain on their jacket, the time it took to shovel the driveway, and every update of every show they ever watched. As If that’s not enough, as they watch the show, or the game, every comment is repeated electronically. Maybe it’s just a way to be by your “friends” when they’re not really there; which is 95% of the time. Maybe they like an “open book” life, and that’s O.K. except for when that “one” question makes them explode. At the top of the Face page, a blank box asks the question; “What’s going on (fill in name)?” They hit the roof with wild rants (versus my blog which is more controlled), about privacy issues, demands Facebook stay the hell out of their lives, tales of assaults on the electronic frontier, and a hundred other crimes against them for the utter lack of decency on the world’s failure to “mind their own business!” 

Here’s a suggestion; the next time you’re outraged over Facebook “spying” on you, take 5 minutes, and read your own Facebook page. Your privacy is gone, and you’re to blame. LOL!