Quote Originally Posted by gilmore View Post
I have never really understood being proud of one's allegedly unique and special heritage. All we did to participate in it was to be born, something we had no choice in. Being proud of one's genealogical research is a different story. It often requires a great deal of work over several decades.
Of course, genealogy is just meaningless names & dates on pedigree charts without a sense of history behind it. I can't tell you how many genealogists I met while working in the field who had no concept of the history behind their family trees -- they could not put those charts in context with the times. They were so focused on the charts, etc. that they lost sight of the big picture -- to learn where they come from. Of course not all of the genealogists were like this, but a fair amout were.

I agree with Rathdown: pride in your heritage gives you a legacy to live up to. He said it so well that I can't really add anything to it.

Without that sense of family history, genealogical data is just that -- cold and meaningless.

Regards,

Todd