The cover of this week’s U.S. News & World Report touts an article about “Secrets to a Stress-Free Summer,” including one nugget entitled “How To Relax.” The subject, apparently, is one we need detailed instruction about. “Vacation isn’t about output,” cautions U.S. News.

It’s nutty — as a country we’re drowning in debt, yet we live such frenetic lives that we need guidance in how to chill out. Strange, huh?

One day historians will be sifting through the wreckage of our civilization and they’ll come across this article, with its droll litany of helpful hints, like “a vacation shouldn’t be a forced march.” They’ll shake their heads in amazement, and retire to the Relaxation Pod for a good laugh.