Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

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

Every day, the national media are full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to trying times, dramatized by national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, religion, government, private enterprise, and of course, America’s budget.

This recent epic Congressional debt debate was brought home to College Park, first by .

Since then, Prince George’s County’s AAA bond rating has been placed on a negative outlook by Moody’s Investors Service credit rating agency. A downgrade in credit rating, such as the one that occurred on the national level, could hamper county projects in College Park, The Diamondback reported last week.

How do challenges like these change our American Dream, and how difficult is it now to achieve it?

We don't think there's one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams that a multitude of people are working toward. At the purely local level, we want to know where we, as College Park neighbors, fit along these fault lines of the country’s struggles.

Nationally, there's a debate about which government-building efforts are "shovel-ready,” and debate about the education system, which is at the center of our dreams of a better life for our children.

Locally, empty storefronts line U.S. Route 1, and Prince George’s Schools are in a constant uphill battle to improve assessment scores.

But $8.8 million has , what officials have said will attract more businesses; and in December Bloomberg Businessweek named College Park one of the best, most affordable places to raise kids.

Patch wants to understand what actions have led to these bright spots, helping College Park to work closer to an “American Dream” and which ones are not. 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 College Park go to the heart of your American Dream.