Feature
JON UNDERWOOD
Death Activism may seem a strange
proposition. Why on earth would anyone want
to engage activism around death? Isn’t activism
challenging enough without bringing death
into it? How is it even possible? It is possible–
and important. It may sound like an oxymoron
because death is the ultimate in passivity. A
useful starting point in comprehending this
dichotomy is the recognition of life and death’s
interdependence. Defining death through
scientific means is challenging; the exact point
of death, difficult to determine.
Philosophy is more direct, its definition
of death being ‘what happens when life
ends,’ with life defined as, ‘what happens
before you die.’
Because of life and death’s
interdependence, it might be argued that
we’re really talking about Life Activism
“
Death Activism
Society
sidelines
death.
60 | ART OF DYING
instead of Death Activism. And let’s face
it: Life Activism sounds a lot more jolly to
most people. Yet the beneficiaries of Death
Activism are the living.
Society sidelines death. Most deaths
are invisible. Expertise and power around
death rest within government and social
institutions, medical professionals and
funeral directors. Communities, families
and the dying themselves are marginalized.
The effects of institutionalizing death
are devastating. In the UK, fifty percent
of the complaints in hospitals concern
dissatisfaction with the way people die.
Access to palliative (hospice) care and other
support services is largely inconsistent and
often absent. Dame Cicely Saunders, the
founder of the modern hospice movement
said, “The way people die lives on in the
people that survive them.”
Death has the potential to offer
opportunities for profound healing and
transformation. Death is clarifying. Being
mindful of death helps us identify our
highest priorities. Society’s distorted
attitudes towards death prevent these