For 20 years, researchers have been exploring how people manage the fear (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116068988757591182-3ET5PyJildgW7pI62fUVFsBf4_w_20071013.html?mod=blog sshorter) engendered by intimations of mortality. Reminded of the inevitability of their own death (which happens to a lesser degree by merely walking past a funeral parlor), people try to quench or at least manage the resulting "existential terror" in several ways. They become more certain of their worldview or faith. They conform more closely to the norms of their society. They show greater reverence for symbols of their society, such as flags and crucifixes.