Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Everyday, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening. National debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities. At Patch, we want to explore tht conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams to which many aspire. Looking across nearly 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breath on whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills. We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated and locals who've taken difficult times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

At the purely local level. we want to know where we, as Salisbury area neighbors, fit along these fault lines.

Nationally, there's upheaval about what to do about the economy, while locally we cut

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all our Patch sites.

And, of course, we want your help: tell us what issue and what stories in the Salisbury area go to the heart of your American Dream.