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Hosted by: Judy Swallow
Show Originally Aired: 6/11/2004 CALL 1 800-423-TALK
When Nations Mourn
Hundreds of people make their way in a steady drizzle to the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan following a memorial service for the former president. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Email to friend
This country has seen nothing like it since President Kennedy's funeral more than 40 years ago. The riderless horse, the glass cassion, the solemn march up the Capitol steps. Though Americans are frequently criticized as deniers of death, they seem drawn to an elaborate funeral.
A society fascinated with public figures turns out in droves to publicly grieve people they never met. Think Princess Diana, JFK Jr, Mother Theresa and the 9/11 memorials. Today, across the country, flags are at half mast. Shrines of flowers and jars of jellybeans stand as personal tributes to President Ronal Reagan. Before the politicians take to the pulpit to prove their love and loyalty to the man, we step back and ask what moves a nation to mourn.
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