The search for roots

Is it not interesting how much people crave to know their origins? How in their search for identity they feel overwhelmed by despair and sorrow, when they do not know enough about their past? These questions captivated my interest, because I have never been very curious about my ancestors and don not consider myself a patriot.
Why belong to a group is so important? Why we feel so comfortable when we find a label that fit us? Maybe that is just because we are social animals, we are adapt to live in groups, and because of that we struggle to fit in the groups we value. However, would not be better if we just give up off this search and create an identity from the ground up? Would not that be liberating? Why bother in fitting in a series of habits and traditions? Why attach yourself to a community? Why limit yourself in a way that can be so harmful?
I think most people care so much about belong to a group because it provides them with comfort, but it also constrain their ability to expand their identity, maybe that is a bargain that work for some people, but to me it looks like something lock you up in a prison of compromises and expectations.
To sum up, only when we are free to build our identity, we can interact with people in a truly meaningful way, because in that circumstance we communicate with them with out trying to see our group identity reflected in them, but trying to make all the good we can see in the persons we met, become a part of us.