From Poland, America Looks Like Wisteria Lane

America, the promised land for all Poles. For more than a century, so many people emigrated from Poland to the U.S. in search of their American dream and sent their hard-earned dollars back home.

Here’s the latest example, from conservative daily Rzeczpospolita, which writes on its blog today:

“What does a tourist see zipping through America over one week? He sees unlocked doors in suburbia, unlocked cars and bicycles left on the porch, not strapped to anything. He sees people who smile to each other on the street completely for no reason. He doesn’t see anyone littering. He sees that each and every car stops at the Stop sign that’s on every street corner instead of traffic lights. And no driver or almost no driver exceeds the speed limit and it won’t even occur to the driver not to stop before a pedestrian crossing even if the pedestrian is only getting ready to cross the street.”

That must be one of the most naïve descriptions of any country that I’ve read in a while. No crime at all? Nobody steals, no burglaries, and everyone is just smiling happily as they walk the always sunny and impeccably clean streets.

Indeed, just like many Poles used to think that “Dynasty” showed the absolute truth about America, now they seem to believe that the U.S. looks exactly like it does on “Desperate Housewives.”

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe/2010/04/01/from-poland-america-looks-like-wisteria-lane/