I Get Up Each Morning and Dust Off My Wits

Now that I'm officially an old person, I often wonder if I'm becoming more paranoid, or just more cautious.  I suspect it's a little of both.

Luckily, thanks to Facebook I have a basis for comparison in other people my age.  From what I see, they are becoming both more paranoid and less cautious.  Many of them are certain that Obama is coming personally to take away their guns and rip down the flags flying from their porches, but they will give their credit card numbers to any scammer who calls them on the telephone.  They know that the Media will print or broadcast anything if they think they can make money from it, but they implicitly trust Fox News and any meme that feeds their prejudices and fears.

I can't be too smug about this, because although I am comparatively careful about what I see on the Internet, I've fallen for a number of bogus stories passed along by people I knew.  So I understand the principle involved.  On the other hand, when I learn that I've been fooled, I don't attack the person who corrects me for picking on my fantasies.  So far so good, then.  Or at least not too bad.