For Better or For Worse

This book can be read by anyone curious about America and the American Dream.

It speaks most directly to those who see their community as home. It’s inspired by my own discovery that the Dream is not merely a collection of opportunities to be consumed but it is a vision of life to be built. It becomes meaningful when we see ourselves as participants in the future of the place we call home, rather than observers passing through it.

We tend to treat a rental home differently from a home we own and expect to live in for years. A rental is a transaction. We enjoy the benefits of the place and take what we need from it for as long as it is convenient. Maintaining it, keeping it in good shape, and investing in the neighborhood are someone else’s responsibility. On the other hand, a home starts with a promise. It encourages us to invest, build relationships in the community, make improvements, and think about its future. We experience a place differently when we see it as our home rather than simply somewhere we happen to live.

In the same way, being committed to our community as our home means we believe our choices matter. We focus our attention not only on what we can gain from it, but also on what we can build and improve.

This commitment transcends our many differences in ethnicity, religion, wealth, education, origin, families who arrived centuries ago, and families who arrived last year.

What unites us is not just where we started. It is the shared desire and experience of building a fuller life here together.

The dream is ultimately an invitation to participate in that ongoing work for ourselves, our families, and the communities in the land we call home.

The question before us is not simply what the American Dream means to us, but how we can pursue it more fully, in whichever way each of us chooses to define it.

Next Chapter: A Vision of the American Dream

Previous Chapter: Origins of the Book

Table of Contents