I feel this point of view answers the thread question eloquently:

"At some point in our lives we focus away from ourselves and come to realize that human life is a continuum that spans hundreds of human generations. One rationale for maintaining a family genealogy is an acknowledgement of the role of our ancestors in allowing for our existence. As we go back in our family history we find an increasing number of men and women who have successfully solved the important challenges in the daily life of their time. They did not give up. Our family ancestors were survivors. You remain a testament in our time of their survival in their time. We believe they deserve our memories and our acknowledgments for their contributions of "life" to each of us. You and any family history acknowledgments are all that remain of them."

Dr. Albert R. Gordon -- from a 1991 article titled PRESERVING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY AND OUR RUSYN GENEALOGY first printed in Trembita Vol 3. No 5. (December 1991)