Funeral Industrial Complex

how much? 

Now a lot of you know about my rants against the way- out -of -proportion costs of weddings. And many of you know that me and my family actually admit that funerals are often enjoyable (mini reunions, good thoughts of the deceased, get to dress up and socialize, catered meal etc). However, again, seemingly ridiculous  ritualistic costs: 

• the frigging casket: how much do these goddamn loads cost? A box of wood that you see for how long? (even shorter if you have an American flag draped, and if there's a cremation). Beautiful objects but worth that money? Not unless you're Tutankhamen maybe and the world sees it for thousands of years. 
• graveyards: like golf courses: seem like huge wastes of money for a middle/upper class taking up  lovely natural  areas. But you have to realize, not to be disrespectful,   it's really a field   of rotting corpses. And summing up ones life on  a yard by yard slab of rock? Insulting almost. 
• flowers: isn't it bad enough that  a loved one is dead, that we need  to then cut down beautiful living breathing helpful plants in the prime of their lives? 
• cremations, hearses, catered meals, funeral homes, houses of worship, ministers/priests etc, flights, yikes! 

Yes i know we want to deck the halls for our loved ones, but they're not even alert enough to enjoy it all!