"The Overpraised American" -- If the 70's were the Me Decade, then we're now living in the Me First, with American narcissism and neurosis reaching new heights. This article picks apart the current trends of outsourced, overindulged family life, where kids learn "to approach institutions such as schools and the workplace with a healthy sense of entitlement."

There's certainly plenty of evidence of this all around us, but by contrast every kid who came to our door last night trick-or-treating said "Happy Halloween!" and "thank you!" very sincerely when we doled out the candy. Arlington: an oasis of etiquette in a world gone mad? Or was it just the candy talking...?