Editor's Notebook: A New Series on the Changing American Dream in Wheaton

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

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. So many changes are happening so fast that it's dizzying: 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 that 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 that a multitude of people are working toward.

Looking out across almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breath deciding 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 people who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

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

Nationally, there's a debate about housing prices and the viability of owning a home in 21st century America. Here at home, we have looked behind the door at condemned houses and how condemnation affects the families who have to move out and the ones who are trying to rebuild.

Nationally, there's a debate about budgets for education and teachers. Here at home, we have had our own and will continue to have them, as the economy could put pressure on Montgomery County and the state to make further cuts.

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

And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Wheaton go to the heart of your American Dream.