Cremation over burial

When I was young I loved to watch old Westerns. After the gunfight, the bad guy was buried on the edge of town in a cemetery called Boot Hill. Today the edge of town keeps moving out farther and farther as our metro areas continue to grow. We need to promote cremation over the burial of the dead.

Death is a subject each of us will face sooner or later. How we handle our dead has both social and environmental issues. The environmental issue is the use of limited land that cannot be easily redeveloped at a later date. Some people may say that cemeteries do not take up any more land than golf courses and shopping centers. If you try to move a cemetery, relatives and friends will be shackled to their loved one’s headstone preventing the removal. I cannot see anyone chained to a 50 year old shopping center that is being redeveloped or a golf course that the owners want to change into housing. The social issues are driven by tradition and pressures to spend large sums of money on the dead to show that their life was important. We need to look at the issue of cremation over burial not after the death but face the issue now when there are fewer emotions involved. We also need to be aware that on average one acre of land divided into burial plots will produce over $1,000,000 in revenue. Note: The million dollars in revenue does not include the cost of the casket, it covers only the plot of land. Death is a big business.

Our Solution to Promote Cremation Over Burial of the Dead

The following are a few of the ways we could promote cremation over burial:

We can place a moratorium on any new cemeteries within 50 miles of a major metro area and 25 miles in secondary metro areas. Note: We should not allow any new cemeteries to be developed on farmland.
Allow relatives to be buried above dead ancestors. Note: The only reason for us to be buried 6 feet under was to keep the wild animals from digging up the bodies. We do not have any wild animals left in the metro areas.
Social Security currently pays $250 as a death benefit. I propose that the people who are cremated would get $500 while the persons buried would not receive any death benefits from Social Security.
Individuals could have a sticker on their driver licenses stating that they wish to be cremated at death. Note: We already have it noted on your driver license if you are willing to be an organ donor.

We are not trying to change any of the other traditions related to the handling of the dead. The funeral is for the living to mourn the departure of their loved one and celebrate their loved one’s life.

How do we make the above solutions a reality?

This subject is very sensitive issue. Our local, state and federal government will not address this issue without a very large positive grassroots movement. You can do your part by getting involved and by making sure that your family and friends know that you want to be cremated after you are dead.

Take Action On Your Own

If you agree with this solution posted on the website, you can help by doing one or more of the following:

Print the solution and send to the appropriate government or other organizations that can assist in implementing the solution.
Modify your lifestyle to reflect your beliefs.
Support organizations that can help make the solution a reality.
Get involved.
How to find your elected officials: TownHall.com has a section where you can find out who is your elected officials in your area.

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Email: dholm@icebergahead.org