PRINCETON, N.J. -- Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are the most right-leaning states in the union, with between 46% and 49% of residents in each identifying as politically conservative. Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii are the most left-leaning, with 30% of residents in each of those states identifying as liberal.
Figurative: The term ashes is often used to signify worthlessness, insignificance or evanescence (Genesis 18:27 Job 30:19). Proverbs of ashes, for instance, in Job 13:12, is Job's equivalent, says one writer, for our modern rot.. For the ritual use of the ashes of the Red Heifer by the priests, see RED HEIFER.
But still another part of the reason is the symbolic potential the cremated ashes present. Put simply, unlike a body which must be buried in a permanent location (an issue itself in an increasingly mobile America), cremation ashes can virtually be spread anywhere ... including anywhere that had meaning to, or that symbolizes, the deceased.