Happy Nation

From the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” to the great “Corn Palace” nothing says Americana like the zany roadside attractions scattered across the good ol’ US of A. In Tourist Trap - Build the Nation’s Greatest Vacations, you become the mayor of a small Middle American town that has a major US highway opening right next to it. You have a vision of transforming your sleepy one-horse town into a mecca for the hordes of cars flying by on this new superhighway. Your citizens are full of unique and wacky ideas for what will entice the stream of family vacationers, college students, business professionals, truckers and the buses of senior citizens with hope that they’ll choose your exit ramp on their cross-country travels.

Hara Marano, editor-at-large and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, has been watching a disturbing trend: kids are growing up to be wimps. They can’t make their own decisions, cope with anxiety, or handle difficult emotions without going off the deep end. Teens lack leadership skills. College students engage in deadly binge drinking. Graduates can’t even negotiate their own salaries without bringing mom or dad in for a consult. Why? Because hothouse parents raise teacup children—brittle and breakable, instead of strong and resilient. This crisis threatens to destroy the fabric of our society, to undermine both our democracy and economy. Without future leaders or daring innovators, where will we go? So what can be done?