We covered death today

Abstract

Death education is passing over the invisible threshold to social acceptance. This “success,” however, brings a new set of risks. Focus in this article is upon the possibility that death education might be manipulated to serve as a more sophisticated form of denial rather than an open and disciplined inquiry into our relationship with mortality. Trends toward narrowing and neutralizing the subject can already be seen. The full scope of death-related issues is often reduced to selected aspects of the dying process. This makes it easier to retain the illusion of control which, in turn, reduces anxiety. The neutralizing process can be seen in the assimilation of death as just one more fact of life. We accept those connotations of death that support the personal and social status quo, but continue to ignore or deny death's most unique implications. It is recommended that the death educator be aware of the social pressures and expectations to deliver a comforting “product” rather than a searching encounter.