What the "no recline" crowd has never understood is the seats are designed to be reclined. The upright position is basically designed as a brace position to give you the best chance of surviving a crash. Somehow, that position doesn't exactly bring comfort to mind, which is why the recline feature was designed into the seat.
I always thought it was so you can get out in case of an emergency. When all the seats are reclined it makes me a contortionist to get out of my row.