Genealogy

Genealogy is a nice thing. To know one's family history helps one know self, including what medical problems are common in one's genes, the talents that blend through generation etc. But today people are less and less interested in knowing their family history. I think it's been defined as an old person's enterprise because it can be tedious to execute and requires a great deal of time to search. People today like instant gratification because their electronic devices are designed for that.

I also think that the presence of so many "single parent" children (I could have used the old "bastard", but it has a bad connotation and is not nice) world-wide makes it harder to find one's family tree. Illegitimacy increases dramatically when a place has a good economic base, so since the 60's, worldwide, the number of children born who do not know their fathers (and in some cases moms) has exploded. In the U.S. alone the illegitimacy rate is now 40%. So, how can a child trace his genes if he never knew his father?

Ironically, the age of the Internet makes genealogical research by the average person a much easier thing to do. Web sites that are free or minimal cost have access to most of the available world's records, yet a smaller percentage of people today are interested in find their family history. There are many benefits of knowing where and who we came from, but the best of all is that finding our ancestry shows us how alike all humans are. It tends to reduce any feeling of superiority one might have because in every family tree there is the good , bad and ugly. Everybody has a big bag of genes, and we show know ours to help explain who we are and why we behave as we do.

I see many family traits in Jane that help define her. These come from both my side of the family and her mom's. Sometimes I can even predict Jane's behavior because she behaves so much like my late mom. Had I would have never known my own mother I would never be able to anticipate what Jane will do in those circumstances. Ergo, knowing about our ancestors is an aid in predicting how we will behave and what our physical profile is and will be. Uh....I know. It means that in my case there must be another nut or too in my lineage.