For this assignment, I interviewed my mother and father. They both grew up in Middle Eastern countries but as you'll soon see there ways of caring for the dead are very different. I first interviewed my mom, who was a bit reluctant about talking about this topic. I personally have never had this conversation with her before and so I wasn't sure what to expect. I asked how she would liked to be cared for after her death, to which she responded saying that she would want to be buried like everyone is. I got the assumption that she wasn't too familiar with the other forms of caring for the dead so I told her about cremation and "natural" care of the dead. She wasn't a big fan of cremation the idea of having her body burned kind of freaked her out, which when you think about it, is kind of weird.
Analyzing this interview I realized that her reaction to cremation is completely understandable. The only reason we don’t react like that is because we are used to the idea, our understanding is much more broad. We were lucky enough to grow up in a generation where tradition isn't something that is held to as high a standard as the ones before us, which allows us to be able to accept things the my mothers generation and culture really could not, which then begs the question how much does our culture/ generational norms effect our decisions?
The second person I interviewed was my dad. His perspective was a little different, I asked him similar questions to that of my mother and got some very different answers. I asked him how he would like to be cared for after his death and he said that it didn't really matter, I asked him why to which he responded that he would be dead its not like he is going to have any feeling or memory of how he is cared for after his death. I asked him which he feels is better cremation or burials and he told me that the truth is, whichever one is more beneficial to society and his loved ones afterwards would probably be the better one for him that is at least.
The one thing I noticed about my dad's point of view is that it is very utilitarianism. His ideas on care of the dead are very unselfish and its not because he wants to be a unselfish man but because being able to provide for his loved ones and/or society may be his way of making death work for hProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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benefit. Instead of allowing death to be unbeneficial he makes it so that it is beneficial. Which then also is a gateway to asking the question do people make excuses for death to be a part of their life or is it genuine kindness that causes people to do things like donate money or make the care of them after their death as easy as possible?
Im glad that you were able to really think deeply about this topic, and it is clearly represented in your analysis paragraphs (2 & 4). For example, in the second paragraph, you dont only analyze your mothers point of view, you follow up with some questions about how her point of view vs. our point of view would change the way we thought about certain ideas. You did a great job analyzing your dads opinion because you immediately connected it to utilitarianism and you were able to draw a conclusion about what he believes and follow that up by asking a relavant question.
ReplyDeleteHowever, i think that you made a pretty big assumption. You said, "The only reason we don’t react like that is because we are used to the idea, our understanding is much more broad". I actually personally dont think this. It doesn't freak me out, but it certainly is a scary idea. Its a little nerve wrecking to think of your body basically being put into a furnace and left to turn into ash. I still think your question is applicable, but i also might add onto it by asking besides our decisions, but about our beliefs based on culture and generation.
You did a nice job in this post Sharif. I liked how you really analyzed your interviews,You did a great job At building a contrast between your mother's /father's point of view and "our view's". You also asked some great questions.
ReplyDeleteHowever I disagree somewhat when you say "The only reason we don’t react like that is because we are used to the idea, our understanding is much more broad. We were lucky enough to grow up in a generation where tradition isn't something that is held to as high a standard as the ones before us, which allows us to be able to accept things the my mothers generation and culture really could not, which then begs the question how much does our culture/ generational norms effect our decisions?"
I think that in alot of ways we as a generation have still been made to believe in certain taboos of death. So which your statement is more then valid. I think we are more close minded then we even realize
i enjoyed this piece. Your mothers and your fathers interviews were filled with very different view points. Your comparison and contrasts were well done. I appreciated that you generated and shared some worth while questions. The point you made about our cultures and others particularly caught my eye. Your question regarding this point: "How much does our culture/ generational norms effect our decisions?" is interesting. Personally I think it plays a big part in our decisions about death. Thinking about a person who is raised in a culture where they value the practice of their religion might be more incline to follow through with those practices.
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