This should be a paragraph. A max of 10 sentences.
It used to be common for births and deaths to occur at home where a number of generations of a family usually lived together. It was highly unusual for someone to grow up without having gone through the experience of witnessing a family member die. Death was a more familiar presence then. Although the average person sees tens of thousands of deaths on television, real illness and dying are usually relegated to hospitals. It is rare now for someone to have seen anyone die. Family members tend to die alone in hospitals, and the unpleasant work is taken care of for us.
Why are we so afraid of dying? Is this separation of ourselves from the reality of death the cause or the symptom of our denial of death? The United States values youthand many of the symbols of youth are positive (progress, learning, risk-taking). Another important aspect of the American denial of death is the lessening of the hold of traditional religion. Most religions promise believers the reward of a good life after death. Is this reward another way we deny the reality, messiness, and sadness that accompany death? Most importantly, what does this denial and subsequent fear of death do to us when a loved one or we, ourselves, are facing death? What are some other ways we deny death?