“I was thinking that
maybe I’d get a maid
Find a place nearby
for her to stay.
Just someone
to keep my house clean,
Fix my meals and go away.”-Neil Young
Now, I don’t think that Neil Young literally wanted a maid to clean his messes up, but what he does hint at is this idea of a lack of responsibility, a care-free lifestyle. Barbara Ehrenreich was awfully effective in her writing at getting this point across. I know quite a few people in relationships who treat their respective partner as if they were a servant, obligated to follow them and clean their mess as they go. Ehrenreich’s writing addressed this recurring issue in American culture, this passing of mess and responsibility, through the eyes of a Maid who’s job it is to clean it up. I got to thinking about this over the weekend, and it is seems that we have a bit of a problem on our hands. Here in America, the prospect of someone else cleaning up after you seems to fit just right in what has been built up as the ideal.
Would you hire a maid?
Here is a small sampling of data I found on a blog about how some people feel about hiring a maid service, and what struck me at first was the people being surveyed – This poll was on a home decoration blog! Those are the people who should want to take care of their own environment. It sure would be nice to see a few more people willing to say they would clean up their own mess. To go beyond cleaning, this hints at a greater problem we as Americans have with passing the workload on to the next man, and in some cases, the next generation (I ain’t sayin’ the earth is dirty or nothin’). Having someone to clean up after you is viewed as a luxury, leaving problems behind is seen as desirable! You can’t turn on the TV without seeing some kind of device that is created to make your life easier, and that is what maids have become in the eyes of the consumer, a device.
(Also, I find myself emptying the trashcans in my house before anyone else can get to it…)
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