Forever Remembered
New high tech grave stones will allow people to view photos and video of the deceased through use of a bar code.
In a way it’s ironic. We spend out entire lives fighting categorized, screaming out that we are not faceless numbers to be devoured by the societal machinery around us, only to find our lasting legacy burned into a barcode.
When in a cemetery we cannot help but to wonder about the person beneath the stone. What they looked like, how they laughed, who their family was, what they enjoyed in life. In our minds eye we reconstruct them, bringing them to life in our imaginations if only for a moment. Now with the push of a cell phone button we can vividly recount their life in a swirl of images and sound. We can even sign their guestbook.
The families would surely take comfort in these gravesite visits—being able to recall on demand the face that fades from memory. But, how much of this change in headstones reflects not our desire to remain connected to our dead, but to our own voyeuristic tendencies? At what point do we cross the line between honoring the dead and leering into their past private lives?
Seems to me that looking back on someone's life is a way of honoring them. Gone, NOT forgotten.
Some folks would find the bar code troubling. Off topic note, don't know if you have a Hobby Lobby in your area, but they are the only "big box" store that I know of that still refuse to use a bar code.
Have a great weekend.
Posted by: Lenette | May 17, 2008 at 07:27 AM
If bar codes appear on gravestones, will archaeologists a thousand years from now think that they are religious symbols??
Posted by: Terri M | May 21, 2008 at 08:34 AM
I didn't know Hobby Lobby doesn't have bar codes. How strange. Bar codes are excellent in retail, but just a little creepy (to me) when it comes to people.
Terri- I wondered the same thing. I think it is entirely possible that they will perceive them as some sort of religious symbol.
Posted by: Jamie Sue | May 21, 2008 at 02:58 PM
Excellent point Terri. I wonder how many things we misconstrue from antiquity today!
Posted by: candace | May 22, 2008 at 08:05 AM