Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Friday, March 22, 2013

What is RootsTech all about?

RootsTech is more than just another trade show/conference where people get together to talk about products and pump up employees. The core of the RootsTech Conference is a celebration of family values and turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. It is far more significant to the stability and values of our world than mere commercialism. We cannot become bogged down in the short view of product announcements and vendor special offers. We need to absorb the spirit of the gathering and realize that finding out about or families, our ancestors and our culture is a fundamental need that can only be fulfilled by keeping the records and preserving the past.

As we scurry around listening to presentations and talking to vendors, we need to take time to reflect on the greater significance of what we are doing here. We are attempting to unlock the past and bring to life the lives, the loves, the hates, the joys and sorrows of our ancestors. In this task, we cannot fail. We must continue to work and strive to make our stories go on into the future and not be lost in the mists of time.

We may be small minority, those of us who are interested in this preservation process, but we are an essential link. The past is prologue to the future and if we forget the past, we will have no future. At least no future that will benefit us or our families.

Listen to the spirit of RootsTech and not to the noise of the Conference or the Vendors area.

3 comments:

  1. James, your blog is now opening a pop-up window "ads by clicksor". Have you changed something?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just wanted to let you know that two of your blog posts are listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/03/follow-fridayfab-finds-for-march-22-2013.html

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sometimes it can be hard to tune out the noise to tune in the message. Good reminder - for any of the genealogy conferences really.

    ReplyDelete