Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

When I was growing up in Warminster, my ultimate dream was to own my own comic book store. My friends and I would be able to hang out at my shop and just read about our favorite superheroes all day and argue about who would win in a fight between Batman and Captain America.

The actual day-to-day duties of running a small business never entered my 10 year-old mind. All I knew was that I would own all the comic books I could ever want (what's a balance sheet?). Needless to say, my fantasy collided with the reality of my non-existent business prowess, and my dreams changed.

That's really one of the two options we have when our dreams start to run into those obstacles. We can either change gears and find a new path to happiness, or we power through the roadblocks and achieve that original goal. Either choice is perfectly valid.

There is no denying the seemingly impossible roadblocks stacked up against most Americans today. Unemployment continues to hover around 9 percent; if you factor in those that are underemployed, who took a lower paying job just to have something, the numbers go even higher. The housing market is still in shambles, health care costs continue to rise, and many of our friends, relatives and neighbors are serving in two long-running wars overseas.

There is also no denying the resiliency of the American spirit. As dark as these days may be, there are still many people around Warminster doing what they can to find happiness and enjoy life. People like , a Warminster couple struggling with the uncertain job market that found a little bit of good luck when they won a free shower door for their home renovations.

Rough economic times like these are when charitable organizations are more appreciated than ever. The YWCA out of Bucks Landing Apartments and Ann's Choice have to provide meals for the needy, while the raises thousand of dollars every year to help families.

And if you want to feel even better about the future, do yourself a favor and type in "Whiz Kids" in the search box and take a look at some outstanding young people living in the township. There's 8-year-old Jimmy Hazlett, whose efforts have raised more than $6,000 for the Ronald McDonald House. Or how about the members of , who took the time to improve their own little patch of the world.

Stories like these have made the folks at Patch.com excited to introduce a new series: "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. 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 which a multitude of people are working toward. Looking out across nearly 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 locals 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 Warminster neighbors, fit along these fault lines.