I seem to hold a few thoughts in my head that the majority of people I know don't agree with. That's okay. If we all agreed, the world would be pretty dull.
Sometimes when I go by a cemetery, I sigh and think, what a waste of space. What with whole thing of world hunger, I think those spaces could be put to much better use as farmland. More and more of this is being bought out every day by real estate jerks putting in more residential areas. I realize our population is growing rapidly, but we need the farms as much as we need homes. Some years ago the cornfield across the street was bought out and demolished in favour of a huge new subdivision. Since then, our once-peaceful little town has become a place where you can't leave a single thing out.
If you ask me, cemeteries take up valuable, probably fertile soil. Even if it isn't fertile, don't we have fertilizer and other agents to help out? We could definitely use the land. I doubt the dead care very much, I really do.
"So what are we supposed to do with our loved ones when they die?"
Well, there are three options -- that I can think of.
This first really needs to be explained, I'm sure. It is a very expensive procedure in which the remains of the dead person are compressed into a little diamond, which you can then have mounted on a ring or some other piece of jewelry.
You think it's weird, don't you?
Personally, if I were an immortal, I would do this for all my friends. Hey, then they'd always be with me. If someone I really loved died, I'd have this done (as if I could afford it).
However, for the majority, this isn't a possibility.
So we move on to cremation, which means (as many of you already know), burning the body and keeping the ashes, or putting them in a place the dead person was happy once. For instance, when my Opa died, he was cremated, and we threw his ashes in a lake where he used to camp a lot.
The cost for this particular method vary quite a bit. There are cremation "societies" that you can join, and pre-plan&pre-pay for your own cremation, ensuring that everything is taken care of already and no one will have to worry about paying for it after you're dead. In the brief research I conducted, the cost to join a Cremation Society is anywhere from $15-$30 (individual) or $30-$40 (couple).
Most cremation societies charge (members) between $500 to $1,000 for a simple cremation.
This fee generally includes:
As a comparison, many funeral homes in the
United States charge well over $1,500 for the same services.
This courtesy of The Internet Cremation Society.
So, yes, it is a bit of a pain, but so is burying. First of all, you have to arrange to get a spot in a cemetery. Most people feel it necessary to buy a nice fancy coffin -- which no one is going to see after the hour or so when it's on display for the family&friends. Usually bodies are embalmed before an "open-casket," so that they won't smell or show decay when people go to look at the body. Expensive stuff.
So we come to my last point:
Cannibalism.
Most people are very much against
the eating of another person, whether
freshly killed or
already dead. I can see the problem when it is combined with
murder, but if you ask me, eating one's dead should not be a problem.
If the
deceased did not die of an illness, or was not
ill when he/she passed away, there is no health risk for the
would-be cannibals. Of course, if you eat them raw, it's not going to do you any good. But who does that, anyway?
For the poor, for the hungry, this is an ideal
option. So long as the
deceased was not ill in any way, the
meat (cooked, damn you) could provide
sustenance for an entire family (depending on the size of the person). Not to mention that they won't have to worry about
what to do with the body, because we all know where it is going to go.
Personally, I would wish to be eaten after I die. But apparently that is illegal, at least here in North America. If I didn't like living here I'd move to Africa or something where I might have more luck. Unfortunately, that would mean all my friends would have to travel there to eat me, and then go back. That's expensive and time-consuming. And part of my point for cannibalism is that it doesn't cost anything beyond what it takes to cook the body.
One person could live for quite a bit on the body of an adult of average size.
I'm not saying everyone should eat people. I'm suggesting that cremation or cannibalism are both much better than filling up space with cemeteries. If you really want to bury your dead, bury them in a garden, without a coffin, and let them fertilize the soil or something.
Looks like I'm going to a crematorium when I die then. Oh well.