Seymour Flops
Diamond Member
I'm not stating that Texans never ever cry at funerals. I'm saying as a general rule, Texans are far less likely to cry at a funeral. I finally figured out why at a funeral on Wednesday at which my Virginia-born, Episcopal wife was the the only one crying, just like at my grandmother's funeral. It was for the father of my sister's husband, a man my wife had talked to maybe four times at the most.
He was Catholic, a deacon of that small town church. Even the Catholics weren't crying, in spite of the stereotypes. Not only that, there was an almost festive atmosphere as we were seeing relatives we had not seen since Thanksgiving, and meeting new people. Only in front of the casket, and during the ceremonies were we somber.
My wife asked me why no one else was crying, not even the man's son. I said that most Texans are Baptist or some other bible-based religion and we don't believe that physical death is in any way final. She said, "neither do we," meaning Episcopals.
I said, "but we believe it, believe it."
The reason Texans can internalize the seemingly illogical believe in life after death is that we would expect to live forever in some way, even absent any religious belief. We're Texans, after all, so how could we die for good? A religion that promises a paradise after death is only reinforcing our belief in our own immortality.
If there was a religion that espoused that death is a permanent end, we would find that far-fetched. Reincarnation would make more sense, and we would of course expect to come back as Texans again.
Texans do cry sometimes at funerals, but it is in proportion to our own loss, not out of sadness for (temporarily) departed. When we lose someone close to us, especially unexpectedly, of course will will mourn our loss. If my wife died, I would be very distraught, and I can't imagine how I would feel if one of my children were to die.
But when an older person passes on to their re-ward, that is not an occasion to have a meltdown.
He was Catholic, a deacon of that small town church. Even the Catholics weren't crying, in spite of the stereotypes. Not only that, there was an almost festive atmosphere as we were seeing relatives we had not seen since Thanksgiving, and meeting new people. Only in front of the casket, and during the ceremonies were we somber.
My wife asked me why no one else was crying, not even the man's son. I said that most Texans are Baptist or some other bible-based religion and we don't believe that physical death is in any way final. She said, "neither do we," meaning Episcopals.
I said, "but we believe it, believe it."
The reason Texans can internalize the seemingly illogical believe in life after death is that we would expect to live forever in some way, even absent any religious belief. We're Texans, after all, so how could we die for good? A religion that promises a paradise after death is only reinforcing our belief in our own immortality.
If there was a religion that espoused that death is a permanent end, we would find that far-fetched. Reincarnation would make more sense, and we would of course expect to come back as Texans again.
Texans do cry sometimes at funerals, but it is in proportion to our own loss, not out of sadness for (temporarily) departed. When we lose someone close to us, especially unexpectedly, of course will will mourn our loss. If my wife died, I would be very distraught, and I can't imagine how I would feel if one of my children were to die.
But when an older person passes on to their re-ward, that is not an occasion to have a meltdown.
