The main focus of the Seder night is to try to actualize and internalize the redemption and convey the feeling of personal redemption to those sitting at the table. This job is not easy to convey and in order for one to successfully present this idea one must do more then just recite the story of the redemption. For one to successfully implant this idea in the heart of others one must first connect to it themselves.

The fact that millions of people witnessed the redemption from Egypt and the giving of the Torah in Sinai should be enough to strengthen ones conviction to the authenticity of our heritage. Why then do so many feel distant from our heritage and have difficulty relating to it personally, not mentioning giving it over to the others sitting around the table? Rabbi Wasserman answers this question in his essay on Faith. He explains that G-d created man straight and it is the sins one does that blinds one from relating to truth. The depth of his words brings us to a scary conclusion. One can be extremely intelligent and knowledgeable and still be bias. Sin to man is like a bribe to a judge, once the judge receives a bribe it is impossible for him to judge fairly. As long as one continues to sin or refuses to change for the better it will be impossible to internalize the Exodus personally and to correctly give over the tradition to the others sitting at the Seder table.

Based on this idea we can appreciate why when we recite the four sons in the Aggadah we begin with the righteous son. Even though the point of the Seder is to give over the feeling of the Exodus to everyone even the simple son however one can not possibly give over this information if he himself is ignorant. First the Aggadah speaks to the one giving over the tradition and makes sure he is righteous and wise only then can he begin answering others.

The secret one needs to know in order to correctly convey the message of the Exodus is that the more one works on perfecting their character the more one becomes a vessel that holds faith. The more one internalizes faith the easier it is to give the message over to others.

We can now appreciate why the recitation of the Aggadah is not only of the Exodus but it also includes a portion that expresses our personal appreciation to G-d for what he has done for us. Following the logic we mentioned above the more one works on their character the more one can relate to the Exodus. Most character flaws stem from selfishness, showing appreciation is a perfect way for one to rectify this flaw and to become worthy of internalizing our past and merit passing on the tradition to all those sitting by the Seder table.