One's involuntary submission to the whims of the living is part of the process of death. If one does anything even remotely notable you can be assured that society will want something to do with it. There's no point in chastising the entire world because of it.
Not sure elephants, among other species, would agree.
The elephants might not agree but I'm certain that the cheetahs, tigers, hyenas, and all the other predators of the world would
Unless you’re a Nihilist and Darwinist, I assume you think some values are more important than others?
And indeed, I think a lot of aspects of culture are dumb and that society would be better off without. It would be better if the world returned to the basics instead of endlessly wrapping itself around an axle of contrivances.
I think you have some odd definitions.
If you follow Parfit, you choose that the latter kind is the only kind to care about, and so caring about burials for the sake of the one buried would be nonsensical to you.