Over My Dead Body Essay, Research Paper

I have often wondered why people went through so much time and money disposing of dead bodies. Once the person dies, I seriously doubt that they care what happens to their body. In the past, bodies have been put to rest many different ways. Cultures have a large effect on this. Some cultures would burn the body or hang them up high so the spirits could be released. Nevertheless, I have only found three legal ways to dispose of a dead body in the United States today.

Burial is the traditional way to go. The majority of our population is put six feet under in an expensive casket, just so they can rot. Burying someone almost seems rude because it allows the worms, bacteria, and other decomposers to eat away at the body. Besides that, cemeteries are taking up a large amount of land that could be used for something useful. Also, when having an open casket funeral, I believe that it brings more pain to the family. They then have to face the reality while staring at the gross cadaver. Sometimes families even get in large arguments over what the person is going to wear when buried. I believe that we could all save stress, time, and money by finding better way to dispose of our bodies. I feel that there are better options.

Cremation has many advantages but is rarely used unless the person is badly hurt or has no family. Some people think that cremation is morbid and sick, but I believe that it makes good sense. By cremating the body, large land plots are not wasted and the body can not be eaten by insects. The family does not have to spend their life savings trying to pick out the fanciest casket for the deceased to rot in either. The act of sprinkling ones ashes upon a sacred place is just as sincere as burying their body. This method of disposing of a dead body seems much less painful to the family because they do not have to cope with seeing the person with out life. I believe that cremation is a very economic and logical way to rid the family of pain and still dispose of the body.

Although not often chosen, everyone has the option of donating his or her body to science. This seems to be the very best method of the three. After a person is dead there is no reason to save the body when someone still living can be helped or maybe even saved by a part taken from the deceased. Selfishness should be considered in choosing a disposal process. Giving a body to science can not be selfish in any way. If looking for a cost efficient method, donating one s body to science has got to be the cheapest way to go. Environmentalist agree that this technique is the smartest and safest manner of discarding dead bodies, and scientists love to have new bodies to experiment on. Overall, I deem that this procedure is what all Americans should begin using.

Burial is rarely seen as symbolic. People do not believe in many of the past spirit-filled myths. Some continue to feel that it is almost a sin not to bury a dead person s body. Cremation is not morbid, only different. Mankind has always felt that burning the body is wrong. That is not true, as we discussed, there are many advantages. Despite those good qualities, the most sensible legal way to dispose of a dead body is to donate it to science. One can never predict whom they are dying for until they are already expired. Once I am dead, I personally want to give all that I had to a worthy cause. Hopefully by knowing this my family will never fight over my dead body.