Of course, taking a photography is not just being an spectator! Photography is basically a medium to store beauty and memories! Its a way to keep an anchor to the past, places we have visited people we love that are far away or that are not with us anymore... Photography can also be a political statement, a way to spread news, a way to denounce a system and a way to change lives.
We say a photography is worth a thousand words, It's not a lie! Photography has countless of meanings and its way more than just being an spectator! A photography can change the world and they have done so many times, to me thats way more than just spectating!
I totally agree with you about the memories and keeping photos of loved ones.
Now playing devil's advocate:
A photograph says a thousand words from the perspective of the photographer. We all perceive things differently. Ever take a photo of a place from different angles? Do you get the same kind of thousand word story? I would also say that photographs are lies because we curate them to look that way. "say cheese." "pout 80 times for a selfie" "i'm going to do something cool, take a photo" Or we wait for a good moment to snap a photo. People want witnesses to cool, happy events. A photo encases that moment forever, like a trophy and photographers are bystanders to that real time action.
Now what about other people's private moments, things that if you were put in their place, you might want others to see. Take for example this photo of children getting burned with napalm in Vietnam:
or women in Syria receiving some bad news: 
What do you feel? and should we have access to these intimate moments? we are viewing these photographs through a looking glass. Its like we're in a museum or an art gallery leisurely being entertained, finding inspiration and when it gets too tough we can leave it at the door. How do we stop being spectators?